


A Touch Most Foreign, Yet Most Yearned For

by Oreana



Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: Anxiety, Anxiety Attacks, Drama & Romance, Eventual Romance, Eventual Smut, F/M, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Fluff and Smut, Older Chocobros (Final Fantasy XV), Romance, Sexual Abuse, Smut, Social Anxiety, Touch-Starved, Touching, blind!Ignis Scientia
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-11-02
Updated: 2019-02-25
Packaged: 2019-08-14 11:34:05
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Rape/Non-Con
Chapters: 10
Words: 51,719
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16491794
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Oreana/pseuds/Oreana
Summary: Ever since the fall of Insomnia, life hardly went as planned for April Spero. The touch of a man was supposed to be something alluring, welcoming, and loving…but for sometime she only knew it to be toxic, hurtful and damaging—leaving her to struggle with her trust in others after the pain she went through and making any relationship (especially for a blind Ignis) to be a challenge whether it be platonic or romantic.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> A piece for an anonymous person who shall remain so at her request, so keep in mind the OC is NOT mine. This is also a warning to be placed that this story will dive into a sexually abused victim’s life. If any chapter gets too in-depth in regards to such a thing, there will be a warning on it in the chapter description and such, so please be aware of it.

 

 

The morning hours still shrouded in nightfall were still and quiet. The sun had barely even threatened the color palette of the night sky when the ever audible sound of the former advisor’s phone began to chime and rouse him from his slumber. On cue, he moved sluggishly to halt the noise with a rather weary and slumber riddled tone. 

“Dalphi—off,” Ignis commanded, blinking his eyes open only to be met with the same darkness since that day the Ring of the Lucii took his sight from him. His palm to the side of his face, Ignis wiped the sleep from him before hearing the gentle chime of his phone app that acted on voice recognition. 

In the past, Ignis would be fine to be up and ready for the day at any hour but ever since the loss in his life he found that it took far more energy to even bother stepping out of bed at times. However, as his blind sight stared blankly at the ceiling about him he had to remember this was the one time he could feel a sense of peace and inch ever closer to acceptance in what happened years ago.

Years…how long had it been, truly? His phone and app worked in unison to keep him up to speed with such things but when you’re blind and unable to see the flow of time, it always appeared as though it moved that much more swiftly or cruelly depending the circumstances. 

His bare feet found the carpeted flooring of his bedroom, toes flexing on instinct as his heel tapped the ground to get a general remembrance of where everything was in the location. Hand upon his phone and visor as he was well acquainted with their locations on his nightstand nearby, Ignis pocketed his device and put his visor in place upon his nose before heading to his kitchen to bother with at least coffee for the moment—he didn’t have time to make breakfast at current and would wait for later to do so. 

The morning air was always so cold to inhale in at times but Ignis welcomed it as he stepped out onto the balcony of his apartment home in Lestallum. The town was slowly getting life breathed into it for the day as well, mostly dealing with workers leaving their houses to set up their shops. Being on the third floor, Ignis merely took in the surrounding sounds but upon finding comfort in the cushioned chair that he kept positioned near a small, circular table that held a vase full of sylleblossom flowers he directed his attention to the nearby blossoms and marveled in their comfort. 

They were such a rarity to obtain at times in Lucis but some traders were able to get their hands on them from Tenebrae and when Ignis found them in stock he bought them without hesitation. Their scent was alluring and calming, a fragrance he could recognize anywhere. Carefully, his fingers began to fondle the vase up to the mouth of it to feel of the flowers and be certain they were still in good health. The smell of them was starting to slowly weaken to which the former advisor took as a hint that their lifespan was running short. 

Sure enough, one of the flower’s petals seemed to crumble ever so in his touch making him sigh at the thought their time in his care was coming to a close. 

Ignis sighed nasally. “Like all things, your life too must fade in my care, mmm?” The words were somber in origin but just as his heart squeezed him in memories he long yearned to relive again, he felt the gentle glow of the sunrise upon his cheek. The frown faded and it was there his blind sight turned towards the light he could just feel. It was as though a hand had reached out to caress his skin and welcome him into the morning hours. His fingertips graced the warmth and he breathed his relief in the welcome sensation. “Good morning to you too, Noct.” 

He usually enjoyed the hour or so out on the balcony to reminisce with his friend long since passed before bothering to venture inside once his coffee was done to tend to breakfast. It made the days easier. It made them less burdening to feel the sunrise and remember all that King Noctis had done to make sure that life could return to the world. 

Ignis knew it was all preordained…something out of his control and a prophecy he should have kept to heart and been prepared for… 

But nothing could ever prepare him for the loss of someone he loved so dearly regardless of the years he had knowing what laid before them. However, Ignis kept to the morning routine and merely finished making his meal for breakfast, finding it to be lacking in terms of a comforting atmosphere. 

Gladiolus and Prompto had both decided to remain in Insomnia well after it was rebuilt and while Ignis was fine to aid them in reconstruction for a time, his heart felt empty and burdened living in a city that no longer held the life of his fallen friend and man he saw as his brother. Darkness couldn’t hide the feeling that Noctis was merely an apparition now, something living in the light he felt every morning. 

Maybe one day he would come to terms with it all but Ignis found himself struggling with the mere thought. 

In the quiet of his breakfast meal he had noted that some of his ingredients were low in quantity and he would need to go to the market later in the morning to grab what he needed. He wasn’t one for conversing with others and while his obvious blindness made that easy for most to avoid talking to him he did have the occasional townsfolk who noted who he was and would try to say ‘hi’ to him. In reflection, he often realized how shutdown he had become—how antisocial and stuck in his own world he had isolated himself within. 

But he knew why and he knew only time would truly heal that painful burden upon his heart. 

“Possibly best I try and grab some air for the day,” he murmured to himself as his fingers fondled the rim of his mug before bringing it to his lips to drink slowly to enjoy the taste accompanied with the deafening silence. 

 

 

The Lestallum market always felt busy regardless the hour. Perhaps on some celebratory nights Ignis would find it less overrun and quite barren but it wasn’t often. Ignis knew every stall by heart, every voice that tried to beckon to him or others to attempt to get them to check out their produce but there was one in particular he was hunting for in the sea of voices that tried to drown out his only means to see the world around him. 

“I thank you for your business, and I hope you have a nice day.” 

There it was in the dark reaches of his mind. It was a gentle, almost whispered tone that beckoned to a customer that wasn’t him there in the marketplace. It was melodic in origin, soothing and awkwardly calming to have the voice grace his ears. If anything, it harkened a smile to his face as he moved forward while being aware best he was able about his surroundings. 

Her name was April Spero, a woman early in her thirties to his understanding but what she truly looked like beyond his imagination he couldn’t say. In order for him to properly see her he would have to do more than merely ask but touch her with his hands and he always felt an awkward sense of tensing whenever he bothered to try to even hold her hand as their friendship blossomed in the past year or so. 

April bid the customer she had been talking to farewell before her blue eyes turned to the former advisor heading in her direction. Moving her fingers through her honey blonde hair she tried to dismiss the strands about her face to be certain they didn’t get in her way. Not that her appearance should matter much to someone who was blind but it was on impulse that she acted a bit particular on where the hair rested about her face. 

“Good morning, Ignis,” April beckoned, noticing that the man was coming towards her booth or at least about to pass it. 

Ignis halted before her, a lopsided grin residing upon his features. “Good morning, April,” he greeted in return. “I was wondering if you would indeed show this day as you’ve been oddly absent as of late.” 

He felt bad mentioning it but in what felt like a week’s time, April had gone missing from the marketplace all together. Ignis knew it was none of his business what she had been up to but at the same time, he couldn’t help but be curious what had caused to take her attention away from her shop there in Lestaullm as he knew she lived on the outskirts of it. 

She glanced away, sighing dismissively at the mere mention. “Oh…that,” she whispered to herself before finding the courage to glance back at the man before her. “I didn’t have enough produce to really sell and used a majority of it myself.” 

The words harbored a means to curtain the truth, and Ignis could sense it. He dared not call her out on it but merely nodded in understanding. “If you require my assistance for anything you need only ask.” Ignis tilted his head curiously. “You recall my words, right?” 

There were many times he had insisted that she come to him for aid if she ever required it but even if they seemed to know one another well enough on a friendly basis, April dared not burden him with her life’s problems—not just because she didn’t wish to worry him but because she oddly didn’t trust him with knowing too much about her livelihood. “I…I thank you, Ignis, but I promise I’ll be fine.” April slapped her hands together as if to wipe away the friendly banter and get down to business. “So, what can I help you with?” 

The former advisor of Insomnia cleared his throat against his fist. “I was running low on a few berries and even flour from what I could tell this morning. I was curious if you had any in stock at the moment.” 

“Got a few blueberries, raspberries, and strawberries, but you’ll have to be specific in what kind of berry you’re looking for,” April said rather playfully as she casually placed her arms behind her back. “As for flour, I got quite a bit of that but only because I was traded it sometime ago with another dealer who needed a large case of peppers.” 

“Any berry type will do, but I regret to inform you that a strawberry isn’t a berry from a botanical point of view,” Ignis corrected in his own teasing manner, tilting his head to the side with the grin still lingering. 

The woman scoffed in response as she began to work through the blueberry and raspberries she had on display. “The name is false advertisement then. How much did you want or need?” 

Ignis chuckled at her lighthearted retort. “Just enough for a week, if you please. I don’t really find the energy or care to make the same breakfast dish every morning, if I am to be truthful about it.” He didn’t mean to sound so somber when speaking such a fact but the words became labored with his honesty all the same. 

April frowned in concern as she prepared what he would need in plastic containers for the berries, putting the bag of flour off to the side for the moment. “Things have been hard for you for awhile now, Ignis,” she whispered, not allowing her words to carry beyond the two of them. “I’d be stupid to ask why…” April laughed nervously, not wishing to upset him as she moved her hair behind her ear out of such an anxious habit. “…But ya know…he’s in a—.” 

“—I appreciate it, my dear,” Ignis swiftly interrupted, his lips moving inward as if to bite back the inner pain he continued to suffer through daily in losing someone he cared for. “I…tell myself the same things, but I just—Not right now, if you please.” The words of those in the market brought him back to the realization the two of them were hardly alone and the last thing the former hand of the King wished to do was draw attention to himself. 

“Sorry,” April apologized swiftly, bringing the container close to herself as if expecting a foul response from the man before her. “I…I didn’t mean to upset you or anything like that…!” 

His frown become sympathetic, noting how frightened her words seemed to become. “I am not upset.” Ignis tried to calm his tone, not understanding completely why April got a bit awkward whenever he would seem to harden his speech in anything other than happiness or appear disinterested in something she had said or done. He found it odd. 

The only thing he truly knew about her was that she was a farmer who grew her own produce just outside of Lestallum and lived alone. She mentioned having lived in Insomnia at some point so he tried to excuse most of her reactions based on the attack and downfall of the Crown City years ago—how it could have scarred and upset her. If it truly were the case, he tried to tread carefully in some ways in regards to his occasional talks with April so as not to upset her. 

She knocked herself on the side of the head with her knuckles, trying to bring sense into herself when it came to where she was and who was around her; however…that negative voice could be loud at times. “Forgive me,” she apologized, knowing that Ignis was curious what caused her sudden panic. “I just get weird during certain times of the day. Not had my coffee or anything like that.” 

Ignis dug into his pocket, fishing out the gil he would need to pay April for her services. “I will bear it in mind.” His words hummed tenderly as he pushed the money across the counter for her to take. He would move it into her hand but the last time he had to hold her wrist to do so properly, he felt that awkward and unpleasant tensing. Ignis at the time blamed it on the fact she might have sprained or hurt her arm as she claimed it was healing from some injury but he found nothing of the sort on her when trying to locate her palm in the darkness of his mind. 

April breathed, appreciating the simple gesture as it made her all the more comfortable in the situation. “Thank you for your business, Ignis.” She grasped the gil and pulled it to her hidden register she kept just out of sight. “I do hope the berries and everything are to your liking.” 

The pleasantries had burdened down to a near awkward silence and Ignis felt it. He partially blamed himself for it. Regardless, he smiled and nodded to her. “I am certain they will be. Do take care of yourself, April.” Cautiously, he found where she had placed the containers he would need before excusing himself from her booth to head back home as he found the sounds of the marketplace becoming too loud and too overbearing for him to handle. 

Even if the loudness of the people could be a bit disorienting at times, Ignis was still able to migrate from the market back to his apartment in peace. He found the quiet welcoming but only for a second until the weight of it began to burden him once more. The items he had purchased put to rest in their respected placements, Ignis found himself leaning against the nearby kitchen counter to try and keep himself from falling under the weight of his own grief. He breathed heavily, a gasping sound that could have been mistaken for him gagging on his own sorrow. 

It took him a moment to realize the pain in his blind eyes was triggered again from the fact he had allowed himself to cry. A years old injury and yet it still burned with the memory of what he had done to try and save Noctis if he dared to fall prey to such an emotion. 

Ignis removed his visor, quickly wiping away the tears with a hiss of discomfort but regardless, the tears continued. “Noct…” he whispered brokenheartedly, “…why did they have to take you all too soon from us…?” 

For April, the day continued onward without much difference than before. She found relief that her anxiety hadn’t triggered her into a frightful meltdown like it had a week ago. It had gotten so bad she found herself unable to move from her bedroom without the fear of  ** _him_**  coming to get her… 

Hands to her face, April tried to remove the exhaustion from her features as it was only midday—she had quite awhile to go till her time in Lestallum was over. “It’ll be okay… _I’ll_  be okay…Just…breathe,” she murmured to herself before migrating her hands to the back of her neck to try and massage out the stiffness that had caused a minor pain there in her muscles. 

Eyes closed to try and relax her mind and gather her thoughts, April heard the ever-subtle approach of Ignis given the sudden clearing of his throat—someone she assumed would have gone home for the day. When he hadn’t said a word, April took attention to him and noted the blind man was trying to hand her a cup of some sort. 

“Oh…? For me…?” she asked, a bit confused as she took the drink to realize it was quite warm when she held it. 

Ignis fixed his visor, finding it to be sliding down the slope of his nose. “You commented earlier you hadn’t found a moment to drink coffee to wake up, so I brought you some from my house.” His fingers removed themselves from the lower part of the rim of the drink to let her have it if she so desired to. “If that’s…not out of line, of course.” 

April was so stunned she hadn’t realized for a moment she hadn’t responded, making the silence rather awkward for Ignis. “Oh, umm…n-no, not out of line at all!” She smiled even if unseen by him. Opening the lid, she noted it was indeed coffee, just black. It was something that bothered her very little. April was hardly used to someone actually taking interest in something she said and was more shocked by that then anything. 

“I am afraid I forgot to ask if you liked milk or anything of the sort with it.” Ignis carefully put a small container of milk in front of her as he suspected he would be going back home shortly after venturing out and about to check the nearby tipsters for information on any creature hunts as he felt he needed to get out and do something beyond stay at home and mourn. “You may keep it if you so wish. I am not sure when my travels will lead me back home, but I would prefer it no go to waste.” 

She stifled her gentle laugh in her throat as she cradled the coffee close to her chest till it became too warm to do so. It was a precious gift, the act in of itself. “I thank you, Ignis.” The young woman didn’t mean for the words to sound as though he gave her something fantastic but it was a rarity that she was treated with such kindness she forgot the world around her for a brief moment. 

Hearing her worship the simple gesture, Ignis smiled in relief that he had brought back a form of joy into her words as they felt so labored with a vague and worrisome tone beforehand. “It was my pleasure,” Ignis insisted with a minor bow, hand upon his chest. “I was merely stopping by once more to hand you this. I will be on my way, my dear.” 

April tapped her fingers anxiously on the cup. She wanted to say or do something more for the man who had continued to be generous to her. “I-ummm…are you just going to head home for the day?” 

Ignis halted, turning on his heels just a bit at her words beckoning to him. “Perhaps,” he said simply. “As I said before, I am uncertain where I will be upon morning’s fall.” The former advisor turned to try and gaze more in her direction even if his glossy sight merely peered blankly in her direction from behind the visor. “I was going to the nearby tipsters to see if they have any new hunts available as being a hunter is what I’ve resigned my life to at current—even with hardly any daemons to truly hunt but merely strong creatures that are a bother or a threat to any and all as of late.” 

Hunters were always people April admired for being able to put their lives on the line for others. Even if the daemons had truly disappeared after the vanishing of the Starscourge sickness there were still powerful creatures that could pose a threat or problem and most hunters would willingly deal with the issue if asked. They basically became a version of pest control of Eos and bodyguards against thieves and rogue warriors. 

While Ignis seemed fine to take on the life of such things, he sounded unfulfilled…as though what he were doing was merely a means to distract himself from what was truly going on about him. “Well, I…usually wrap my store up about eight at night,” April commented, though it felt like she was truly urging herself to get those words to even come out properly. A part of her was beginning to inwardly panic, wondering if she would regret the decision she was about to make. “…I could invi—.” She paused, shook her head at that idea and quickly corrected herself. “—I could have dinner with you somewhere in Lestallum maybe about 8:30?” 

More eyes about her would be far better. She wouldn’t have to worry of trusting the wrong person again and getting in a bad situation… 

It was a bit late for his taste to have dinner at such an hour but regardless he smiled sweetly and nodded. He would have offered to cook for her but in the saleswoman’s tone he could sense she was unsure if she should even do this. “I would be delighted to.” Ignis moved his hand to his chin in thought. “We can meet dine at Gystalos just near the hotel if you’d like?” 

April nodded in haste, hoping to not regret her decision as she bit back her desire to cancel quickly by thinking up some lame excuse. “Yes, that sounds fine. I’ll, uh, if I’m late I do apologize, but I’ll get there as soon as possible.” 

“I won’t be going anywhere,” Ignis insisted as he took his leave. 

She waved, even if she should be aware by now he couldn’t see her doing so. Rolling her eyes and sighing to herself when Ignis was just out of sight, April began to chew on the side of her index finger out of habit. “Oh, I hope that wasn’t a dumb thing I just did…” 

While Ignis and her had a decent customer and seller relationship she had to confess she hardly knew the man beyond that boundary. She knew he was once the former King of Lucis’ advisor and he too lived in Insomnia for a time but that was about it. Everything else about him was a total mystery other than what some people said about him whenever she name dropped him in conversation. 

She was aware he was a kind and giving soul but even that couldn’t stop her from occasionally getting scared of getting too close to him and allowing him too much of a window into her own chaotic life.

 

 

Ignis let his talking app Dalphi remind him of the time and place he needed to be ten minutes till it he was to be there. He didn’t mind if April were to be late but he himself couldn’t stand the idea of being so himself. He didn’t wish to appear disinterested or too burdened by his daily life to be on time. 

The calming sound of the fountain nearby relaxed him though he kept to attention the other voices and comings and goings of other people nearby. As time pressed onward, Ignis blamed it on his impatience to get the evening going but he also couldn’t help but be concerned in regards to April and how odd she was acting when trying to even ask him out to having dinner for a moment. He didn’t want to be stood up but a part of him fretted that it may very well end up the case. 

“Dalphi,” Ignis beckoned, causing the app to blip to life at his command, “what time is it?” 

“It is currently 8:48 p.m.,” the app responded in its rather lifeless, feminine tone. 

Ignis furrowed his brow, biting at his lower lip that he could still feel the scar on before turning his head in the direction of some footsteps he thought would be April’s only to hear them bypass him in time.  _She might not show_ , he thought to himself. Ignis sighed through his nostrils, hating to think that would be the case but he inwardly did his best to be understanding.  _At least a few minutes more. She could have gotten caught up by something important…_  

He waited for a while…waited for her to show until his app reminded him that it was soon nine in the evening. Pocketing his device in his inner coat pocket, Ignis took to his feet with much reluctance.  _I am certain there was a reason for—._  

“Wait!” The voice was familiar, hurried and accompanied by the frantic sound of footsteps rushing in his direction. “Ignis, wait!” 

The former advisor turned, mouth slightly agape as he was expecting her not to show at all given the time that had passed. “April?” he questioned, though he recognized the tone of her voice quite easily. 

She panted, her palms falling to her knees as she nodded. “S-Sorry,” she swiftly apologized. “I kinda forgot that once I shut my booth down it was probably best I take everything back home and it was quite the journey…” 

“I see.” Ignis’ brow raised every slightly, hinting another desire for the young woman to not be transparent in her speech. “And everything is handled just fine now, my dear?” 

The way he spoke, April flinched. She could tell it was almost a means to get her to open up and be truthful about how she was feeling; but regardless, she bit back the desire to be honest as she didn’t want to be truthful and hurt his feelings in the matter. “Oh yeah,” she chuckled nervously, moving stray strands of her hair from her face. “So, umm…s-sorry about that.” Her arms drifted behind her back, swaying ever slightly in hopes to change the subject. Blue eyes taking in the sight of the man before her, she noted Ignis did change into something else for the dinner get together. He was wearing black jeans with a white, button up shirt that had all but the last two buttons done to show a skull necklace he wore on his chest. The black jacket he wore on top was charming and had a nice, golden pattern embroider upon it. “You look very nice.” 

He moved his visor up the slope of his nose at her compliment. “I thank you. I am positive you look just as alluring.” The difficulties of being blind…he couldn’t truly say what he felt without people assuming he was lying. 

April blushed regardless, waving away the compliment. “Eh, I am just wearing what I had on in the market, to be honest, so it’s nothing special…” She felt bad saying that, but in her stop by her house, she couldn’t waste another minute on finding a new wardrobe as she was already too busy debating if she should just stay home or go back to Lestallum to spend the evening with Ignis. 

Ignis motioned towards the restaurant not far away. “I apologize if this is an odd request but would you mind describing it to me?” 

She tapped the tips of her fingers together, looking down at the outfit she wore. “Umm, it’s just a white, short-sleeved shirt with light-blue colored jeans I wear,” April responded as there was truly no way she could make any of that sound romantic or appealing in her eyes. 

He chuckled to himself at how April downplayed how she truly looked. “As I said before: I am certain you look charming.” 

“Thank you.” Her words were murmured, continuing to  tap the tips of her fingers together as she followed beside Ignis to Gystalos. “Will you need my help with anything?” April knew Ignis was capable without his sight but at the same time she didn’t want to be insensitive if he did require her aid in doing something. “I-I don’t mean to be insulting or anything, but I was just curious if you’re used to being out this way and all.” 

Ignis could easily hear the worry and stress in her voice, making him raise a finger to his own lips to silence her. “I’ll be fine, my dear,” he whispered, his grasp going for the door’s handle with only minor problems in finding it as he took to its frame and slid his fingers down to the knob to open it for her. “Just relax, and let us enjoy the evening.”


	2. Chapter 2

Upon being escorted to where they would be sitting, Ignis’ hand outstretched casually in locating where the table was in comparison to his seat before finding himself sitting comfortably opposite April. The sound of the menu being put in front of him was enough to make his fingers locate it with it ease, opening it as if expecting to look down and read the words just fine. April watched him closely, feeling a bit bad that Ignis wouldn’t be able to look at the listed items like anybody else. 

“I don’t think they have a menu in Braille, but I guess I could check if you like?” she offered, opening her own to take a glance at the options as she was quite hungry and hadn’t eaten since her lunch break she took at the market earlier in the afternoon. 

Ignis waved away her concern, digging into his pocket to pull out his phone once more. “The world need not bend for me. I have everything I need on this device,” the former advisor insisted. 

April cocked her brow at the comment, watching and listening as Ignis activated the app Dalphi once again. The robotic voice responded to Ignis’ commands and started to scan over the words before it, reading off a list of options for him to consider ordering. While she could hardly say she had her life full of people with blindness, she had to confess she had never really heard of such an app that felt as though it were some living machine that monitored Ignis’ daily life and helped him in ways when he couldn’t cope without his sight. 

“And what is that app you’re using?” April asked, trying to divide her attention between Ignis and what she should at least get to drink. 

“Dalphi,” Ignis responded when he made a mental note of his order. “She is a text to speech program to aid me in places that do not have a Braille substitute and was created to monitor my schedule and times of the day so I knew the day, the hour, and so forth.” 

With the waiter dropping by, April swiftly departed with her full order as did Ignis in return before she turned back to the conversation between them. “Is she new? I cannot say I’ve ever heard of such a thing before.” 

A smile pricked at Ignis’ lips. “Prompto, a friend of mine, made her for me during the long years of darkness that enveloped Eos.” His fingers came together in a gently grasp upon the table as he continued. “I was abstinent in my desire for help when I was freshly blind but…thankfully I had a companion who didn’t listen to me very well.” 

April looked about a bit nervously, wondering if she should ask certain questions or not. She didn’t want to upset Ignis like she did last time at the market by purely trying to comfort him. “How did…you become blind?” She moved her hand behind her honey blonde hair and rubbed it nervously. “I mean, you don’t have to answer if you don’t want to.” 

Ignis’ grip upon his own hands tightened in a mere moment as he situated himself in the booth he was sitting in. “I’ll save that story for a later day, my dear. It’s still a bit fresh in terms of answering.” He kept his voice low and gentle, hoping to not startle her as he did before. “But what of you? I must confess I know so very little of you beyond the knowledge that you were there when Insomnia fell.” 

It was April’s turn to be a bit uncomfortable thinking back to those times. She found her moment to pause in answering when their drinks at least arrived and she could take her time in responding by thanking the waiter. “Well, I love animals and marine life—we can start with that, right?” 

The stress in her voice was noted and Ignis took care in drinking his tea before nodding to April’s comment. “Any place to start is a good place,” he confessed, his index finger taking care in touching the ring of the glass shortly after. “Go camping much at all or visit Galdin Quay?” 

April scrunched up her nose playfully at the thought. “I don’t care much for camping alone. Even if the daemons are practically gone there’s still no guarantee you won’t get hurt or anything out in the middle of nowhere.” Thinking back on those times, she couldn’t help but flinch a bit in heartache, recalling her fiancée, Samir. There were times they had promised to go out beyond Insomnia and go camping near the ocean but that day never came—at least not in time. “Also, Galdin is just too expensive for me. I’d like to go sometime but ever since the years of darkness they have been trying to use funds to get back on their feet and possibly expand so things there have been far pricier than normal.” 

“Which is a fair trade, I do suppose—all things considered,” Ignis confessed in regards to Galdin Quay’s price hike. 

“What, umm…what about you?” she stuttered, her fingers absentmindedly tapping the glass of her drink. “Do you have any special talents besides cooking?” 

Ignis moved his visor ever slightly and chuckled to himself at the compliment. “I play piano every now and again when I have the spare time to do so.” 

April found her lips turning freshly into a smile at the idea. It was such an act that was often foreign in such trying times. “Oh? I think hearing you play sometime would be enjoyable.” 

“I have a piano in my apartment home.” Ignis felt a bit calmer this time as he could hear April’s tone had lightened ever slightly at the topic. “Should you fancy the thought it would be hardly any trouble at you stopping by to listen.” He seemed to daydream in that instance, his thumb rubbing the other as he grasped his hands upon the table. “Often I…find myself playing it alone close to the evening hours. I find the melodies to be quite charming and calming me back to happier times.” 

“I hope your neighbors don’t get mad at the hour you play,” April pointed out in a lighthearted manner. “I am sure a piano’s melody carries through apartments quite well.” 

Ignis sputtered out a brief laugh at the times he had been reprehended for his playing at odd hours. “Frequently. However, I do at times record my playing and put my songs on my phone or laptop to listen to in the more ungodly late hours I grow restless. It makes my neighbors enjoy my presence far more.” 

Catching the teasing joke in his last statement, April laughed against the rim of her drink. “I’ll be certain to come at a reasonable time then.” 

“And what of you—any special talents you’ve not told me of?” Ignis turned his head as he heard the ever subtle approach of the waiter who had brought their food for them. Moving his fingers over the top of the table, he located the bundled silverware. 

She couldn’t help but shrug at the thought as she began to pick away at her food. “I do enjoy painting but it’s mostly to just calm me down during stressful moments.” 

Ignis wished he could find some way of being able to connect with her on that level. Sadly, without his sight, he would be unable to truly see whatever it was she had painted. “That sounds delightful.” He wished he could say more, but again, there were some things he felt he couldn’t truly say without his sight…Otherwise, people would merely see him as ‘just saying that to be kind’. 

April as well wanted to say she’d show him some of the old paintings she had done but quickly halted herself with her fork soon to her lips as she lightly squeezed them to the silverware in thought. “I, ummm…perhaps I could describe some of my work to you in detail or something?” 

The former advisor to the king relaxed and smiled at the thought. However, there was still a bit of emptiness to his grin. There were times he wished the gods had shown him mercy and allowed him to keep his vision for the sacrifice he had made. “You need not bend for me, my dear. I promise, it is all right. I trust that everything you’ve made looks lovely just as the person who made them.” 

The words were charming and rather sudden, catching April by surprise as she blushed when they repeated again and again in her head to be certain she read that right. “I, umm…w-well, I would hardly say I am actually perfection.” 

He tilted his head, the silver eyes both opening to peer blankly in her direction through the shade of the visor. “Why would you insist on such a thing?” 

April didn’t want to bring up his blindness, but it was true. He couldn’t truly see what she looked like. Out of reflex of the topic of appearance, she tugged on her shirt she was wearing to try and pull it over her chubby appearance as if to hide it somehow. “Well, I'm not exactly slender…I am a bit…not the ideal weight most women are supposed to be—.” 

“Who says what an ‘ideal weight’ is?” Ignis asked, his voice a bit hardened at the thought as his fork lowered to the dish of food he was eating. 

She twisted her mouth to the side, humming in thought. “The world, I guess?” 

“To any man thinking with his heart and brain, a woman can be beautiful should she have the right personality,” confessed Ignis as he turned back to the meal before him. “Beauty is always fleeting but your personality will be eternally beautiful should you wish it to be so.” 

April’s cheeks flushed at his words, moving a stray hair from her features as she thought on Ignis’ words. “I, uh…” She felt unclean in that notion. Given all she went through… all her uncle put her through…she hardly felt her personality was as beautiful as it once was as well. But, again, how much was she willing to divulge to a regular she thought was charming? April relaxed best she was able, breathed out the will to speak freely and merely forced a smile she knew the man couldn’t bear witness to. “…Thank you, Ignis.” 

Ignis had paused in his eating, tilting his head to the side at her gratitude. “You sound troubled? Something the matter?” 

“No, I just—I do truly thank you for taking the time to spend with me,” April said. It was a half-truth. She was appreciative of him taking time out of the day to talk to her, but a part of her felt far too broken to really enjoy the evening for what she wanted it to be. “If I didn’t come out tonight I probably would have been at home right now…alone…and sad.” 

There was something in her words that gave her away. “You didn’t plan on coming to meet with me tonight, did you?” 

She flinched, fingers curling tightly about the silverware she held as if expecting him to get angry and berate her for considering such a horrible act of standing him up. “No, I…I didn’t…” 

Ignis did his best to hide the pain in her honest response. “Am I intimidating in some form? Was I too forward?” Honestly, he wanted to know so it could be less uncomfortable for her next time. 

Hearing him ask such things made April inwardly panic as she could tell the truth in her words stung him. “No, no, no! It’s nothing like that, Ignis!” She watched as he jerked his head back a bit at her quick response. “I wish I could tell you the truth but…right now… It…It’s not the best time for me…” 

“As I harbor my own daemons you do as well in your closet,” Ignis whispered as though it were a secret to everybody in the room. “To expect you to warm up right away to me—a mere regular who attends your booth when he has the energy to—would be indecent of me. I understand that these friendships take time, so let me soothe you with these thoughts—.” Ignis paused, his fingers looping together to form a bridge of sorts for his chin to rest upon. “—You are free to tell me ‘no’ at any time. You are free to not come to me when I ask you to, and you’re more than free to tell me if something makes you uncomfortable.” 

With how calmly and decently he took her words, April recoiled in shock of it all. Her fork accidentally clinked upon the rim of her dish as she lost the will to hold the silverware. She never expected him to be so understanding. “B-But I was the one to ask you here…really…” 

“And you’re still free to tell me that something has come up or you’re not feeling well,” Ignis reminded her, hoping to put her stressful fear at ease. 

Her breath felt as though it left her, finding his reaction still to be quite foreign. “You don’t care if I **_lie_** to you?” 

“You are not doing it out of malice but out of desire for comfort,” Ignis confessed in understanding. “I will more than understand if you wish not to join with me for another outing should I propose the idea in the future or you do so as well.” 

Bowing her head, April smiled all the wider even if she hated she had become so fearful of the world around her in the past several years. She wished things could go back to the way they were, but asking the gods to rewind time and take back their cruelty unto Eos would be impossible. “Sometimes I wish there was a magic spell that I could use to just erase my fears and worries, you know? Ever since the fall of Insomnia, I lost everything, and there’s nothing that I feel I can do to truly feel whole again.” 

Ignis’ eyes closed as if to reflect on her words. “I am truly sorry, April,” he empathized, wishing he could reach across the table and hold her hand but stopped himself as he knew that just touching her made her flinch. 

When the evening came to a close for them both, Ignis made his way to his apartment complex but stopping just at the door to the front lobby where he knew he had to say his goodbye to April. He offered to take her home earlier, but she declined the very thought. 

“Goodnight, April,” Ignis whispered in the dying night of Lestallum. “Are you certain you’ll be alright getting back home at this hour?” 

She hid her chuckle behind her lips, moving her arms behind her back as she kindly pivoted on the back of her heel in an idle sway. “I’ve done this several times before, Ignis. I’ll be okay. I promise.” 

Ignis raised his hand as if to prevent her from leaving right away. “Before you go, I think I do have a spell of sorts that can be beneficial to your times of need should you ever wish to use it.” 

She blinked wildly, mouth agape at the very idea that something could exist in Eos and she had never heard of it. “What is it?” 

He raised his index finger to her, leaning in close enough to where only she could hear him. In the near deafening silence of the night, Ignis began to sound off a round of ten different single-digit numbers. April gasped to herself, realizing that it was a phone number he was giving her. 

“Your…phone number?” she questioned, bringing her hands to her chest to silent her beating heart. 

“Use it if you ever wish to,” Ignis reminded her. “I may not have all of the answers, but if you wish to call me no matter the hour, I will listen and do what I can to aid you.” 

The idea was fearful. It was another new step towards trying to allow Ignis a bit more of an ear into her life and she was uncertain how she felt about that right away. “I thank you so much, Ignis. I’ll consider the thought.” 

Before she could leave, Ignis handed her a piece of paper that had the actual number on it so she wouldn’t forget it by the time she got home. “Keep it or toss it, my dear. It is in your hands to do as you wish.” 

“Goodnight, Ignis. Sleep well,” April said in farewell, waving to him before taking the piece of paper and folding it to put in her pant’s pocket. 

While she knew it wasn’t that bad to walk by foot to her home and to Lestallum, she could hardly say she was looking forward to the silent and lonely walk ahead of her. Since she was between the hunter’s HQ up to the north a ways not far from Lestallum’s eastern entrance, she would sometimes get a ride from one of them when it came to her produce that she hoped to sell in the market and never truly bothered with a car as it was just another painful thing to try and budget on top of everything else. However, walking alone back and forth whenever she just came to town to visit was hardly an enjoyable trek. 

It filled her mind with several doubts and many paranoid thoughts. 

With it so late, the shadows of the twisted branches of the naked trees began to play with April’s mind. Ever twig that stretched out on the road before her reminded her of hands wishing to grab her ankles and drag her to who knew where. The wind causing an eerie howling sound hardly did her much favors either and the rustling of the bushes and the sudden crunching of leaves made her skin crawl as she pulled her jean jacket closer to her body. 

“Keep it together, April,” she muttered to herself as her heart was pounding at a sickening beat that made her nauseous. “You’re personifying everything and nothing is here…!” 

She had no idea why her anxiety was acting up so horribly lately. She had such a bad panic attack in the past few days that she refused to leave home and stayed locked up in her bedroom for hours. The nightmares of what her uncle had said and done to her made her snap in such a horrific way that she found herself lying against her bedroom wall, staring blankly at the ceiling for several hours until she heard one of the hunters knocking on her door, snapping her back to reality. 

She had never done that before…been so detached and in a realm of hysteria that the world had vanished for several hours at a time. Her fingers clenched and dug into the fabric that she kept about her as if denying that to be true. She wasn’t crazy…she wasn’t going crazy…was she? 

“What have you done to me…?” April asked dejectedly, the harsh howl of the wind sweeping her words and tears away from the moment. 

There was a time she was happy, carefree and far less anxious and socially awkward. Speaking and connecting to people used to be a gift and the company of others was something she often looked forward to. Now…she had grown leery, untrusting and frightened of even the simplest act of kindness. Everything felt like a trap. 

She had numbed herself to the core by the time she got home, making the sight of her door almost disinteresting to her as she unlocked it to allow herself inside and out of the cold. To anybody it would seem out of nowhere given how pleasant the evening turned out to be, but as she closed the door behind her, April collapsed to her legs and began to shudder and cry.

It was in these moments where she felt she was truly alone, broken, and afraid of even reaching out to the kindness of people. Ignis had offered so much to her as had some of her neighbors to the north of her at the Hunter HQ but each time she felt she didn’t deserve their kindness or worried of falling prey to someone’s abuse should she allow those walls down once more. 

Her hands to her head, she shook her head and screamed as if wishing those plaguing thoughts would go away and stop eating her alive. She wanted to be normal again but it felt no amount of wishing or trying would make it happen as she wished it would. 

The midnight warm shower did some good for her. Being alone with her more pleasant thoughts of what she planned to do for the coming hours helped her unwind and focus on different things. As she bundled up in the warmth of the towel, she noted the piece of paper she had pulled from her pocket earlier before undressing as it lay there on the nightstand as if to mock her with her inability to muster up the courage to call the man even if now would probably be the best time to do so in order to calm her mind further.

****

**_You can’t…you hardly could talk to him decently this evening…_ **

****

**_You won’t…you’ll just keep it forever and never bother…_ **

****

**_It’s pointless…he won’t help you…he can’t help you…_ **

 

April’s lower lip began to quiver as the stressful thoughts attempted to plague her once more. Her bare feet caused the boards beneath her to moan as she sauntered up towards the number scribbled down for her to use, taking it into her grasp and considering the thought of throwing it away or using it.

 

**_Destroy it…_ **

****

**_Rip it up…_ **

****

**_Destroy…it…_ **

 

Her fingers pinched the piece of paper, debating on letting that happen. Lips curled inward, she sighed out her reprieve in silencing the negativity biting at her angrily to make her life further miserable if possible. 

“Later…!” she insisted to herself, putting the paper quickly in the nightstand drawer and closing it with equal haste. “I’ll…I’ll call him later…” 

April had thought that the nights would at least me calming in some manner. Dreams were either none existent for her or merely old memories she wished that still remained or wished had been destroyed like everything else in her life. Her life back in Insomnia she missed terribly. She missed her loving parents who adopted her and she missed her fiancée who did everything he could to try and protect her up to his last breath. 

“Samir…” she heard herself say as the vision of the man seemed to turn to her with a loving look that she thought she would never see again. 

His wavy, brown hair caught the light of the old lamp she remembered having at her apartment back in the Crown City when they were first dating. It was a gentle, golden glow that always felt welcoming to April as they would often only leave that light on when the night hours fell upon them, merely cuddling together to share in a good book together. 

“Not boring you, am I?” Samir’s voice asked in her dream, almost distant and out of focus as she had nearly forgotten what he truly sounded like. 

April saw herself move from where she was practically embracing his arm, falling asleep against him in the process. “Mmm,” she hummed, shaking her head. “And even so, it is your voice that puts me to rest.” 

“Ah, so I **_am_** boring you,” he teased with a laugh. 

Her fingers graced the residual sensation of his beard, turning him to look her in the eyes. “If your voice puts me to sleep it is because I feel at ease knowing you’re here,” April reminded him before encouraging him to kiss her. 

It was something she hadn’t felt in a long time—a kiss from someone who truly loved her. It wasn’t something even the dream would allow her to feel and realizing that the sensation was stale and not vivid, she quickly woke to the dead silence of her room two hours later. 

A quiet gasp escaped her, tears silently flowing from her eyes as her fingers curled and gripped the cold, empty side of her bed where she wished Samir was sleeping. The covers crumpling into her grasp, April quivered and began to sob uncontrollably in remorse for not being strong enough to protect the man she loved. Her heart started to throb such a horrible ache that she found herself breathless from the oncoming panic attack at how she was to face the future alone without him. 

Ignis could hardly say his own dreams were as pleasant. The atmosphere at first felt welcoming, in an open field of sylleblossom flowers that seemed to stretch for miles but he felt concern and eagerness fall upon his heavy heart. 

“Noct…?” Ignis called, looking around frantically feeling as though he should be there. When nobody answered, he began to grow worried, running forward through the field in eager search. “Noct…!” 

He felt as though he had been running for hours, false exhaustion overwhelming his dream-self to where he placed his palms upon his thighs to regain his energy. His breathing quivered as his own anxiety too made him shiver in the doubt that he would find his friend. However, as Ignis straightened up once more it was there he saw a body off in the distance, looking away at the bright landscape that seemed to fade into the distance. 

“Noct…?” Ignis questioned, recognizing the young appearance of the boy just off on the horizon. The spiky black hair he’d know from anywhere, same for the dark attire he wore. “Noct!” he shouted in desperation, running forward with his arm outstretched in hopes to close the distance between them. 

The man near the bright light turned ever slightly but not enough for Ignis to see the face once more…the face of the young man he had been with for so many years and wanted desperately to see again even if in the realm of his own dreams. 

The vision came to a crashing halt the moment he realized his phone was going off just nearby on his nightstand. 

Opening his eyes to the same darkness as before, Ignis shook the weariness and upset from him. Moving his thumb just under his eyelids to be done with the tears that dared to stain his cheeks, he fondled for the phone to answer it. He was unaware of the hour, so he merely assumed it was a lot later than he anticipated and this was Prompto or Gladiolus calling to check in on him at random. 

“Hello?” Ignis answered, trying to not sound as tired as he was letting on. It was so quiet for a moment that he almost assumed that it had been a wrong number and the person had hung up on him. 

“I-Ignis…?” 

The voice was feminine, very frail and meek. He furrowed his brow, placing the tone in time once the exhaustion left him in peace. “April?” 

She tried to keep herself calm, not wishing to give away her own startling upset over the line. “I-I'm sorry to call you at such an hour…I-I didn’t mean to wake you up…!” 

“I don’t know the hour, my dear,” Ignis confessed as he rolled over onto his back to at least get comfortable again as he talked over the line. “Are you alright? You sound distraught.” 

She herself was sitting against her headboard, wiping her tears from her eyes best she was able. The moment he asked such a question, she felt her lower lip tremble and her moment of weakness nearly shone through. “It’s past three or so in the morning,” she confessed, the words strained as she was worried he might get upset at her and regret giving her his number. “And I, umm…” April struggled. She sounded like such a child telling him she had a bad dream in regards of being reminded of what she had lost. “…I-I just really needed to talk to someone.” 

The line would hardly drown out her sorrow as Ignis could easily hear her trying to contain her sobbing against her hand. “I'm here, April,” he reminded her, hoping to settle her. “If you wish to talk, go ahead. I am listening as I promised.”


	3. Chapter 3

She wasn’t even sure where to start. To actually have someone on the phone who was up at what was an ungodly hour, willing to listen to her was what stunned April the most. The sensation did renew a sense of yearning back when she was only dating her lost fiancée. She cradled her phone closer to her cheek as if worried her own words wouldn’t reach Ignis somehow. 

“It was…just an awful dream…” she murmured, doing her best to quell her quivering tone. 

Ignis blinked at the mention, his silver eyes continuing to dart about in the eternal darkness that had overcome them. _Ironically…same with me_ , he thought to himself. He would have confessed it but decided not to put any light on him in the moment. “Do you wish to speak of it?” 

April managed a brief smile, bringing her knees to her chest as she felt like a child once more talking to a friend in the forbidden hours of the night. “I guess I should rephrase,” she said, a light tenor of a laugh managing to come over her words in her desperate attempt to find humor in the situation. “It was…a pleasant dream but…it just brought back awful memories of what I lost…” 

Again, Ignis felt his chest tighten in remembering Noctis in his own slumber. With the adrenaline engaging with his body, he pulled the covers from himself and found his slippers there near his bedside. “Thoughts of the Crown City’s fall?” Ignis probed, venturing through the house to get tea prepared since he figured he might be up for awhile yet just trying to talk down April in the state she was in. 

“Something like that.” April paused, her teeth rolling cruelly over her lower lip that had been abused by the chill in the air. “I, uh…I used to be engaged with a man named Samir.” 

Ignis’ hands found their way to the kitchen counter in time, fondling for the cabinets that he knew held his mugs as he began to get things situated quietly for making tea to give him an added boost in the day. The mere mention of such a lovely thought—being with someone you loved—oddly roused a sense of jealousy at never having that sensation in his life. 

It was something he put at the lowest priority, focusing on the care and keeping of Noctis and the others as they journeyed together, but there were times he wished he had been more forward and honest with the women he encountered during the ten years of darkness he endured. However, any woman he tried to relate with and enjoy the company of either saw him as a hindrance given his blindness or thought him to be one who needed more care than he wished to receive. 

It made him transform those years into focusing on the task at hand once more and to try and grow accustomed to the idea of living his remaining time without his sight. 

“Did he…die in the attack?” Ignis reluctantly asked, hating to drudge up such thoughts. 

April shook her head, lowering it shortly after as she sniffled back her sadness. “When we were attacked at the Crown City he did everything he could to save me. We were living together then and the moment the ground shook from the onslaught of the Empire, Samir grabbed what essentials he knew we couldn’t be without and hurried me out of the city as fast as he could.” 

As she relived the old memories that had eroded with time, April could freshly recall Samir taking to his feet in a hurried manner the moment the television screen failed to pick up the peace treaty activity when the Empire betrayed them. She remembered wanting to talk to her parents at least but Samir insisted they probably knew to leave as well—urging her to contact them while they were at least in the car getting out of the city walls. 

“My parents didn’t make it much to my dismay, but Samir and I did,” April reluctantly confessed, her voice straining under the pressure of sorrow that overwhelmed her. “I hate I couldn’t be there for them.” 

It was there Ignis heard her words sob heartbreakingly over the line. “The Empire stole so much from all of us,” Ignis lamented as he finalized his tea, bringing the warmth of the cup to his hands as he found himself back in his bedroom once more to get comfortable. “There wasn’t much you could do, April. In the end, any parent’s wish is for their child to live their life to the fullest and never have to bury them or die beside them.” 

“It’s still not fair,” April gasped with a choking sob she couldn’t hold back much longer. She had forgotten how nice it had been to come clean to someone other than merely rambling to herself in private that she hadn’t realized how much of her barriers had fallen around her in order to allow Ignis in. 

“I know,” Ignis whispered in sympathy. “I know the years without them will continue to be arduous but you mustn’t lose faith in what lies ahead.” He let her quietly sob to herself, not wishing to interrupt her mourning. “What happened to your fiancée after the attack? You do not have to answer if you do not wish to.” 

April cleared her throat best she was able, fingers tensing into a fist as she recalled that night they were trying to make their way to Lestallum when the car got nearly destroyed in the attack on the city. “Since we had a head start leaving the city we didn’t travel with the other refugees and were on our own. Samir knew enough about camping as I did a bit about wildlife so we were able to make do taking periodic trips at havens when we found them to rest for the evenings, but…” 

When she took a heavy pause, Ignis didn’t press further. “I see…” he whispered in understanding. “So you came to Lestallum then and lived here for a time, I am to assume?” 

Swallowing harshly, April merely nodded on reaction. “Yeah…” 

The way her tone seemed to imply a sort of ‘that will do’ response made Ignis understand she was fibbing once more to dart away from something she didn’t feel comfortable speaking of. In the dryness of the conversation, the former advisor wasn’t sure what to touch on. Should he talk of himself now and take the pressure off of her, or should he try to ask her about more pleasant things from the past? In such grieving times he usually let the ones around him mourn and stepped away unless they wanted to confess something to him further. 

“Is there anything else you wished to talk about?” Ignis asked, finding that he was down to his last bit of tea as he moved the mug just a bit to feel what remained inside of it. 

“I really shouldn’t keep you up all night,” April insisted, knowing that the hour was about to approach four in the morning. 

“I'm drinking tea that will need to settle for the next several minutes,” Ignis confessed over the phone. “I do not have to be anywhere urgently tomorrow.” 

April managed another brief smile at the thought. “You shouldn’t be drinking tea this late. Was something on your mind too?” 

Ignis paused at the thought of responding, a subtle sigh passing through his nostrils as he finished the last of his drink. “I am sure I need not say much as all of Eos already knows my pain and loss.” His words were heavy as if dreading to even embrace the topic at hand. 

“Oh,” April murmured from the other side of the line. “I understand…” Her eyes darted about, wondering how to even perhaps coax him into the thought as she felt him talking about it might make things easier for him. “Were you thinking of him again?” 

He tried not to laugh bitterly at the question knowing it was innocent in nature. “When am I not?” Ignis reclined backward, putting his mug on the nearby nightstand as he gazed upward knowing the ceiling were there. “In truth, I too had a dream just the same as you—dreaming of someone I had lost.” 

“Hu, how ironic.” April found some form of comfort in the exchange, relieved she had someone she knew could relate to her own loss in life. Her mind drifted back to Samir, trembling a bit as trying to remember him as he was physically was at times a challenge as the years went onward. “Ignis…as…personal as this question is…” 

Her pause was pregnant and almost unwilling to move, leaving Ignis to try and cajole her onward. “Yes?” 

Her lower lip quivered once more in broken dismay. “Are there…times you find yourself…forgetting their face…?” 

The pain was like a knife to his chest, making Ignis relieved April couldn’t bear witness to him as he inhaled sharply at the reminder. He was fairly good at hiding his pain as the tears from his now opened eyes began to trickle down his scarred cheeks. 

“I used to remember Samir so well and there are times where the dreams can be vivid but his voice…his touch…the way he used to look at me, they…” April closed her own eyes, batting back her tears best to her ability but only feeling her dry throat squeeze in horror at the realization she was losing her memories of the man she once loved. “…it is all starting to feel so generic—as though I am merely putting a voice in the husk of someone I loved…” 

Ignis’ own tears fell silently still. “I do struggle with the same horrors,” he responded as his fingers gripped the covers of his bed in a death grip of hatred that the gods would allow this to happen. “I lost my ability to see ten or so years ago,” Ignis departed in reluctance. “The last thing I saw was him, lying there unconscious at the altar in Altissia.” On instinct, his fingers touched the scarred left eye to feel the roughness of his skin of where the Ring of the Lucii left its mark. “There are times I remember his face without hindrance but as of late…” He bit back his words, his knuckles turning white the harder he clutched his fist. “…I wish I could have seen the man he had become…” 

“I'm afraid not many of us got to see what he looked like before his passing,” April reminded Ignis with a furrow of her brow. “If I had known what he looked like, I would gladly tell you.” 

“I saw a remnant years ago—a vision of what was to become of him in his older age but that was such a brief, haunting image of his dying moments that I on instinct suppressed it.” Ignis couldn’t bring himself to watch his friend suffer no matter what it meant for his fading memory of what Noctis would appear to be ten years later. “Even so, Gladio and Prompto often told me themselves as Prompto has photographs he took of Noctis in those final hours we spent together.” 

Ignis was even given one regardless of not being able to look upon it, feeling only renewed resentment in the idea now that he thought about it. 

“Don’t blind people usually see with their hands?” April asked, knowing that Ignis had mentioned it before on top of trying to find her hand to hold it to give her the gil he had once when they met several months ago. Regardless, the concept made her a bit uncomfortable personally but it seemed to be something Ignis figured out on his own in time. 

“Indeed they do.” 

“Did the King not allow you to at least see him that way?” April was aware that there was only so much even a simple picture could do when relying on your hands to see one’s features, but she was curious. 

Oddly enough, Ignis smiled briefly at the faint memory in the back of his mind that was slowly degrading with time. “He did,” he nearly whispered. “With what I felt and what I was told, I put together my own vision, but I am unaware how accurate it is.” 

April moved her feet inward, feeling like a child who had done wrong somehow. “I am sorry for bringing you down this evening or…morning, rather…” She had caught a glimpse of the time and noticed that it was nearly just after four-thirty in the morning. “Maybe we should both try to find sleep now?” 

“I might stay up a bit longer,” Ignis admitted as he reclined back on the bed’s frame once more. “I usually rise with the sun as it allows me to feel a sense of closeness to him.” 

“Will you really be able to stay up that late?” 

“I told you that I have nowhere else to be, and since the tea has warmed me, I am fairly certain I will be up for a time still.” Knowing he couldn’t leave his dirty mug there on the nightstand, Ignis took it back to the kitchen to wash it out. “If you wish to depart for the evening, you are free to do so. I will not keep you any longer than I have.” 

“It was I who called you,” April reminded him, wishing Ignis would stop trying to put whatever blame he could on himself. 

“So it was.” Ignis smiled briefly to himself, venturing over to his bed once more to sit down and try to calm his emotions from earlier. “I know calling me must have proven quite the obstacle, but I thank you all the same for trusting me in your comfort.” 

It brought back memories of when the others used to lean on him, requiring his aid in terms of emotional support. Ignis hadn’t realized how odd and lonely it felt to truly not have that as often as he once did. Even trying to contact and connect with Talcott was a bit of a challenge at times. The others seemed just fine on their own and even Cindy was able to maintain things without his assistance and with Prompto always around the garage. Without daemons in the world, Ignis felt as though there was nowhere or nobody to go to that really required his services. 

“I thank you for listening, Ignis,” April whispered, moving her lips inward as she tried to contain her own inner joy at having such an outlet for once. She wasn’t berated for feeling the way she did, wasn’t yelled at for being incompetent…it was all so new and refreshing. “I’ll, uh…let you do what you need to do. I don’t want to take up anymore of your time.” April struggled with the idea of remaining on the phone till the sun came up but after letting her emotions outward she found her body now reminding her of how tired she truly was. 

“Will you be at the market at all today?” Ignis asked, fishing for a book of his he had been enjoying. He knew he had to pass the time somehow if she were to leave the conversation. 

“I don’t think I’ll have the energy to set up a booth as I want,” April said with a bit of a weary laugh. “I have enough money to kind of stay home as it is. Don’t worry about me.” 

“Well, should you require my assistance in anything once more, just let me know.” 

Again, April managed to smile in the brief moment as she folded her legs more inward to idly rock back and forth. “Thanks again, Ignis. I hope you have a good day, and I’ll talk to you later when I can.” 

“Goodnight, April,” Ignis responded in return, waiting for her to hang up the phone before doing so as well. 

As he sat alone in the silence of his room once more, Ignis found his thoughts becoming more burdening than he would have cared for them to. A part of him, now relaxed, did want to greatly recline back and sleep once more. However, Ignis knew if he tried to close his eyes for just two hours he would indeed miss the rise of the sun, and it wasn’t something his heart could bear. 

While he kept his focus on the book he had managed to find earlier, Ignis eventually went out on his balcony to wait for the welcoming rays of the sun to rise in the coming hours. His mind drifted between the words he felt at his fingertips to the dream he had earlier that haunted him still. Combined with the words April asked earlier in forgetting your loved one’s faces, he couldn’t help but cringe. 

“Will I ever be granted that vision of Noct again?” Ignis wondered, his fingers curling cruelly on the Braille before him. Even if his dreams could lie to him he would take that over no vision of his friend at all. 

As his mind wandered aimlessly back and forth, Ignis paused in his self-musings when he felt the warmth of the light caressing his hand before going up the length of his arm. His mouth agape slightly, he breathed out his friend’s name while his lips thinned in a painful reminder that his King—his brother—was very much in the very light around him. Noctis felt so close and yet so far in a lot of ways. 

“I would give anything to see you again,” he whispered, letting the light wash over and warm him as he remained there on the balcony. 

Ignis enjoyed in the time out in the sunlight before finding exhaustion overtaking him once more, encouraging him to bed. As he hoped that his dreams would be far more pleasant, he hadn’t the chance to truly find out as an hour or so later after he had finally managed to get more sleep, he heard his phone ringing. 

Sighing through his nostrils at having to wake up, Ignis fondled for his phone to answer it. “Hello?” 

“Did I wake you or something, Iggy?” 

The voice was low, almost rough in a sense. Ignis would recognize it anywhere. “Gladio?” he questioned, running his fingers through his messy hair to try and pull the strands away from his eyes just for the sake of keeping them out of his way. 

“You know it,” Gladiolus commented on the other side of the line. “It’s almost ten in the morning, and you’ve not gotten up yet?” 

Ignis hummed in thought, rolling onto his back to at least get into a better position than where he was prior on his stomach and chest. “I was up quite late last night.” He didn’t see the reason to explain further even if he knew Gladiolus would pry. 

“Bad dreams?” 

The guess wasn’t as random as it sounded. There were times when Ignis had moved out to Lestallum to escape his burdens only to find that the nightmares and visions haunted him all the worse, making it impossible for him for awhile to function or even sleep as he wished. While he knew Prompto would be more than willing to listen to his upset, Ignis felt he could confide in Gladiolus when it came to the two and always did—even at odd hours. 

“Pleasant at best but…a nightmare in the regards of being reminded of what is not there,” Ignis whispered, arm bent over his face as he remained relaxed as he was. 

Gladiolus tried to hide his sigh over the line but it was easily heard by Ignis. “I don’t know why you moved out there to be in solitude like this.” His voice seemed to harden a bit at the mere mention of it. “At the very least you should have gone to Hammerhead and stayed with Cindy and Cid. Prompto would have been by now and again, and I could have easily gotten to you as well.” 

“It’s not imperative that anybody come to my aid, Gladio,” Ignis insisted, trying to calm his own emotions at the oncoming lecture he felt was unneeded. 

“Iggy, you’re not healing well out there alone,” Gladiolus pointed out. “Why don’t you come back to Insomnia? My wife and I can—.” 

“No, Gladio—!” Ignis didn’t mean for the comment to come out so forced but he couldn’t bear the thought of living with his friend and wife who was already expecting a child as it were. He would feel like merely he was a burden once more, someone that needed to be watched over and monitored when he never took kindly to those moments. Gladiolus was good at letting Ignis do his own things without supervision but Ignis was worried he could accidentally screw up and concern his friend’s wife who didn’t need that sort of stress on top of everything else. “No, I…I appreciate the offer, but I’ll be fine here for now.” 

“Do you want me to come over or something? I can come out there and spend the weekend with you.” 

“You have your wife who is expecting to focus on, Gladio,” Ignis reminded him. He pushed himself up in bed, not feeling comfortable being on his back as often as he was. Old aches from a veteran of war, as it were. 

“She won’t be due till another two months, and if worse comes to worse, I can always haul ass back here,” Gladiolus chuckled. “You know she’s cool with it.” 

Ignis shrugged his brow, still managing a broken smile at the thought. “If you…wish to spend your weekend down here with me brooding, you’re more than welcome to come. I am afraid I won’t be joyous entertainment.” 

“What you need is a time out of there,” Gladiolus confirmed over the line. “I’ll be there once I tie up a few loose ends here. You take care of yourself, okay?” When there was a long pause on Ignis’ end, Gladiolus grumbled like the captain of the guard he remained to be. “Ignis, if you need anything you better call me. I don’t like it when you go quiet for days on end.” 

“You sound as though you were my father,” Ignis lightly teased, trying not to find some newfound reason to be saddened all over again at the mere thought of his family dying in the onslaught upon the Crown City. It was a sadness he had steadily gotten over in his time traveling with the others and even working with them time and again through the years of darkness, but it seemed his heart was willing to find any excuse to be sorrowful. 

“Someone has to watch over you since you refuse to do it yourself,” Gladiolus gently scolded. “Listen, just take it easy, okay? I’ll be there in a few days.” 

Perhaps this was what he needed. Ignis couldn’t say for sure if that were the case yet. “Thank you, Gladio,” he whispered over the line, moving his fingers through his hair once more to push the strands back and over his head only to feel as they fell back around his forehead and near the slope of his nose once more. 

“No problem. It’s what friends do. Try and get more sleep, Iggy. I’ll see you soon.” 

“Goodbye for now,” Ignis concluded, waiting for Gladiolus to speak his own farewell before hanging up the phone. 

The more he focused on it in the morning, the more he realized that he was indeed feeling quite lonely and more relieved that Gladiolus insisted on coming over. He didn’t truly have anybody nearby that would be willing to spend time with him as everybody felt busy with their daily lives, moving on as though nothing ever truly happened. Even new royals were set in place of Tenebrae, Insomnia, and Gralea after the war. 

Everybody just moved on…but Ignis. 

It was a moment where he felt his weakest the more he reflected on it. Even weaker than when he first lost his ability to see.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A warning that this earlier part of the chapter might get intense with hinted abuse. <3

April assumed staying at home would be enjoyable, refreshing in a sense. She could be by herself and try to ignore the loud crowds of Lestallum, having no anxiety to cripple her in terms of forcing herself to be active in the community. However, as calming and enjoyable as it oddly was to talk to someone who understood her loneliness she found herself feeling weirdly yearning for that same understanding voice again as the suffocating dark surrounded her once more when she woke later in the day. 

She tried to find the energy to paint but even just looking at an empty canvas made her stomach knot up and her fatigue renew at the very thought of trying to make anything come down upon the endless white. Regardless, April remained in the stool before the blank canvas only to have her mind wander to darker times. 

The times she tried to comfort at that man’s house, April cringed and horribly recalled when he’d consider her very ungrateful for all he had done to take her in when she was suffering and had nowhere to go. His voice loud and without restraint as he’d grab at her throat at times and pen her against the wall or anything else he could to be the one looming over her. 

Her heart beating wildly in her chest, she thinned her lips and felt her fingers curl in regret that the memories would not leave her be. 

The echo of his voice yelling ever angrily made her eyes close, feeling that he were truly there all over again. Threatening to keep her contained by the weight of his body as her nostrils flared only to pick up the invisible and faux scent of his breath on her face with her form trembling from memories past, she hadn’t realized her hands had gone to her head to try and stop the deceptive sounds ringing in her head and the horrible smells that teased her senses. 

They grew louder… 

 

           …and louder… 

 

                   ….the grip on her throat seeming all the more vivid and deep… 

 

 ** _CRASH!_**  

 

Hearing the loud sound resonate over the others, April’s eyes flew open as her senses came back to the present for a brief moment. “I'm sorry!” she shouted on reflex of such a noise. “I’ll clean it up—!” 

The world came back to focus. He was nowhere in sight and it made her breathe out a sight of relief. April turned, gazing down at the item she had accidentally knocked over in her stage of inner torment to notice it was a hand painted vase her mother had given her years ago when April expressed interest in painting. It was meant to house her brushes of varying needs and seeing it now shattered on the floor made a part of her own heart shatter with it. 

She hurried to her feet, removing herself from the stool she had been sitting on for half an hour trying to think up an answer for what to paint, moving to collect all of the pieces to see if it was salvageable. 

Just looking at what had become of it made her sigh and feel her heart and body weigh heavily as thought invisible chains of iron attempted to keep her down. April found no energy or excitement in trying to piece back together a memory she kept close to her heart—at least not now—and decided to instead put the vase’s pieces in a small box as a keepsake till she could find the renewed sense of energy that came and went to glue them back together. 

In the end, she went with an old glass she rarely used to drop her brushes within for the time being before sitting back down to stare at the empty canvas once more. Breathing steadily, her fingers and palms went over her neck slowly as if remembering those cruel moments in Duscae that she was forced to endure after losing everything that was precious to her. 

Her sadness blinded her, making her for a moment feel she had done everything wrong to deserve what she did till the healthier part of her subconscious reminded her that regardless of him being family he had no right to be subjected to the ways he abused and mistreated her. 

April’s lips moved inward in a rare moment of anger. Her eyes opened. They narrowed in a vision of maddening inspiration. She took one of her nearby paintbrushes, slipped viciously a color of black and red and began to seemingly attack the white canvas in front of her. 

In her moment of trying to use art as a means to get her emotions out and down on paper, she found an hour or so later that the once white canvas had merely become a splatter of reds on a black and semi-white background. From an artistic perspective, you could argue the black looked like rigid mountains of despair with the white trying to bring light in the background only to have the red bleed into it and speckle over the corrupted landscape. Perhaps any other artist would try to go back over it and clean it up but to April it represented enough in getting her anger and resentment out somewhere. 

Just looking at something that spurred such emotions made tears of anguish prick the corners of her eyes before they scarred her cheeks in their travels to her jaw line. Her breathing shaken and her heart feeling as though it were in a vicious grip, April sniffled back her saddened anger as she embraced herself and rocked ever slightly like a child needing comfort and only finding it within herself. 

Her fingers were still wet from red paint she had intentionally smudged over the canvas at times to get the desired look she wanted, not caring that it was marking her arms and shirt in the process of her own embrace. In the fit of despair, April’s eyes drifted over to her nearby phone wondering if she should try to call Ignis once more only to feel her stomach knot up with a renewed sense of anxiety. 

When she spoke to him last time she only told him a partial truth about why she was calling and why she felt the way she did about several things in her life. How exactly could you try to discuss family abuse to a stranger without it feeling like it could be damning or awkward…? 

Pulling her wet fingers from her body, April realized then how much of a mess she had made on herself since she didn’t bother to wear her smock. Trying to use the parts of her hand that were freed from paint to dab away her tears, she took back to her feet and made haste to the bathroom in hopes that a warm shower would try to calm her and put her anxieties to rest. 

 

 

Ignis spent the remainder of the day either reading or listening to some shows he took interest in throughout the years that often times comforted him in the deafening silence of his apartment. When Dalphi buzzed the hour for dinner, Ignis paused the podcast he was enjoying on his laptop before bothering to try and find energy for the thought of making something. 

If he were to be honest with himself, he was hardly feeling like eating much. Last he went to the doctor, he was told his weight was going under again and he needed to be cautious about his dietary habits—something he often got onto others for. Ignis knew he wasn’t setting a good example for anybody but trying to eat when your emotions filled your stomach was a difficult task. 

He leaned against the counter upon finding it when entering the kitchen, sighing vocally before his misty eyes looked upward at the ceiling. “I am certain you’re laughing at me now—the man who put all of his attention on your own eating habits is now hardly following his own lectures.” 

When finding the strength, Ignis pushed himself back into an upright position to consider what light meal he could eat. Just one more easy dinner couldn’t hurt anything, right? He knew it hardly did wonders for his energy but Ignis could only handle the thought of a bit of rice and some chicken for the evening. 

Just as he had managed to find everything he needed to make his meal he heard an upbeat and unusual knock on the door. 

“Who on Eos…?” 

Ignis knew Gladiolus said he’d be coming over but that would at least take nearly the day just to make it over to Lestallum depending on what loose ends he was referring to earlier on the phone. Also to add, the knock was hardly like him or reminded Ignis of any of his neighbors. Arriving at the door, Ignis cracked it just a bit with a raise of his brow. 

“May I help you?” 

“Heyas, Iggy,” came a rather familiar tone from the hallway. 

Ignis’ back straightened as he opened the front door further. “Prompto…?” 

“The one and only,” he responded again, smiling best he could in the situation. “Can I come in?” 

“I-Of course.” Ignis stepped to the side, allowing his companion to venture into his apartment. Normally, Prompto was at Hammerhead to aid Cindy or in Insomnia to remain a member of the Crownsguard. The thought that the cameraman would be so far from either places all of a sudden felt abnormal and as though he may have rushed out to Lestallum under urge of Gladiolus. “It’s so late, Prompto. What brings you here?” 

Prompto pivoted about on the ball of his foot, getting a good look at the kitchen to notice the few items Ignis had set out for himself to which he frowned in worry. “Hu?” He spun on his heels yet again, rewinding the words a bit in his mind to forge an answer. “Oh, the big guy texted me about you sleeping in bed real late, and I just happened to be nearby sooooo…” He crossed his arms behind his head, relaxing against the nearby entryway leading from the kitchen to the mini hallway. “…I thought I’d drop by to say ‘hi’. I know it’s been awhile.” 

Ignis tried not to take offense to anybody over worrying about his disposition. It felt like the days he was blind all over again, and he swallowed the harsh bile in the matter, replacing it with a forced smile. “Cindy asking you to run errands for her, I wager?” 

“Yeah, something like that,” Prompto confessed. “One of the perks of being the Captain of the Guard’s best friend is that you get opportunities to kind of skip out of Insomnia if enough men and women aren’t calling in sick or something back home, so I took a bit of time off and landed myself here.” 

Ignis’ heart wasn’t sure if it could handle anymore news of back home and how everybody was still thriving in some manner without Noctis being on the throne. This new King and Queen who were elected to be in power by the citizens he didn’t feel spite for and knew they were doing well for the people of Lucis, but he couldn’t handle the very idea that Noctis just seemed to vanish from everybody’s memory as far as he could tell. 

He gestured towards the kitchen area he could sense was nearby. “I was about to make dinner but I must confess that I was only focused on making something for myself, I am afraid. I’d be fine to share the offering or try and forage for something else that may suit your needs.” 

Again, the bright blond looked over at the rice and small bits of chicken waiting to be cooked and frowned still knowing that Ignis couldn’t see it. “Hey, no sweat there—I just ate, actually, but…shouldn’t you be eating a bit more than that?” 

“I had a sizable lunch,” Ignis lied, sighing in exhaustion on the matter as he went to work in making his dinner since Prompto insisted he was fine as he was. 

He sighed to himself in quiet, looking upward at the ceiling with a slight roll of his eyes to accompany it. Prompto wanted to encourage Ignis to eat better, but he knew trying to consider the thought would only escalate into an argument. He didn’t want his visit to instantly be met with disdain. “Did Gladio say when he might be here?” 

“No,” Ignis answered, shifting the visor up the slope of his nose before pouring the rice he needed into the cooker. “He merely said he needed to tie up a few loose ends back home and would arrive when able.” 

Just as Prompto was about to get bold and consider the lecture he was trying to stomach for the sake of keeping peace, he heard Dalphi go off. 

“Incoming text from April. Do you want me to read it?” the feminine robotic voice asked, causing Ignis to pause in his actions for making his meal. 

Knowing Prompto was in the room, Ignis stuttered over the thought. “I-No, Dalphi.” 

“Do you want me to read it later?” she asked. 

“No, Dalphi,” Prompto interrupted, catching Ignis off guard. “I can read it to him if he wants me to.” There was a sort of playfulness in the gunman’s tone, making Ignis’ cheeks slightly rise in embarrassment at what he was implying without even saying much. 

“Understood.” And with that, the app powered back off, Ignis reaching for his phone to pocket it in haste. 

“You should always ask before you try and pry your nose into my business.” Ignis tried to be firm in the matter but being cross with Prompto was a challenge for him, knowing the man always meant well. 

Prompto sprawled out against the counter, tapping his fingers against the top of it with playful intrigue. “So who is the lady?” 

“A young woman who runs a booth at the nearby market,” Ignis went on to explain, waiting for his meal to cook after everything was set in place. “She always has the freshest produce and sometimes is able to get sylleblossom flowers for me whenever they wither via the horrible heat here.” 

Prompto chuckled to himself. 

“Why are you laughing?” Ignis probed, raising a single brow at the act. 

“I don’t know many people who would go out of their way to find such a flower unless they really cared about somebody,” Prompto confessed, crossing his arms underneath his chin to give him a place to rest for the time being as he took back to the stool he was sitting on earlier. 

“What are you implying, pray tell…?” 

Prompto felt all of the upset and worry drain from him at this sudden new development he wasn’t even fully aware was going on. “It’s obvious somebody would only do that if they truly cared about you.” 

“Come now!” Ignis gently scolded, jerking his head back in disbelief. “The poor woman can hardly find it in her to visit me for dinner—.” 

“—Already eating dinner together? Nice!” Prompto interrupted quickly, lifting his head up in an instant at that news. Honestly, he was worried Ignis never really ventured out of his apartment at times. The few moments he managed to make it to Lestallum for trips he always saw Ignis in his apartment or hardly spotted him at all about the city. 

“Are you even listening to me anymore?” Ignis asked with exasperation, dumping the rice and chicken into a bowl he had nearby to begin stirring it to let the minor chill in the air cool the food. 

“Yeah, you just said you both went out to dinner even if it was hard for her.” Prompto shrugged, tapping his knuckles lightly on the counter once more to an invisible beat in his head. “I am sure it was hard for you too as I don’t think I’ve seen you venture beyond the door much.” 

Ignis went quiet over that detail himself. Yes, trying to socialize and pretend to be part of human society was difficult at times and far more draining than he liked but something felt different when he was around April. She could sympathize with his loss just as he could hers in return. It wasn’t a compulsory, happy conversation but a conversation that felt genuine and reminded him that he wasn’t alone when it came to forcing a smile and perception that people wanted to see when they saw him out in public day in and day out.

 In that thought, he was brought back to their conversation the night before and a part of him began to worry why she was texting him to begin with. Were her past memories acting up again? There were several times Ignis’ did but he didn’t want to turn to Gladiolus or Prompto, worrying they would view him as weak or ask him to just ‘get over it already’ as he had heard some people imply before in their own way. When he had nowhere to turn, he broke down crying if music, reading and his podcasts didn’t exactly do the trick. 

Digging into his pocket after taking a small bite of his dinner, he pulled back out the phone and handed it over to Prompto. “Read the text she sent for me, please.” 

Prompto found the sudden jump in conversation odd but he didn’t question it, taking the phone to read the message April sent earlier. “It says… _Hey, sorry for last night, but can I talk to you again sometime_?” Those words out of context made the gunman raise a brow curiously at what was going on there. “Was that why you were up so late last night, Iggy?” 

Hearing the lewd even if lighthearted implication, Ignis growled in response. “It is not as you’re implying. She had a nightmare herself and called me in the fit of it. We talked for awhile and since it was nearly dawn, I decided to stay up and greet the morning before trying to find extra time for sleep.” 

The joking façade from earlier dropped and Prompto frowned in concern. “Something wrong with her?” 

“She merely expressed she lost her family in the fall of the Crown City, her fiancée shortly after by means of a daemon attack.” 

“That’s…rough,” Prompto expressed somberly. He frowned in disgust at the past, his fingers clenching together upon the countertop. “We lost so much in that war…” 

“Indeed,” Ignis sympathized, his mind continuing to mull over the text and hoping April wouldn’t think he was blowing her off as he hadn’t gotten to it yet. “Do me a favor, Prompto, and text April back. Tell her she’s more than welcome to contact me when she’s able.” 

“Should I tell her that I'm here?” Prompto asked before considering the thought. 

Ignis chewed a bit more of his meal in contemplation. “Just tell her I have company over and I might be a bit indisposed from responding in urgency, but she’s welcome to call or text whenever she so desires.” 

“Got it.” Prompto took to the text and quickly sent a reply. “There we go.” 

Given the two had different ways of speaking, Ignis couldn’t help but be a bit leery. “What did you say exactly?” 

“I just said _call me whenever you like. I have company over, so I might not respond right away, but I’ll certainly try_.” 

Ignis sighed. “You could have also added ‘text’ in that equation and been a bit more charming in the matter…” 

“Yeah, well, I'm not you,” Prompto reminded Ignis with a gentle chuckle. “I say ‘cool’, you say ‘immaculate’ as well as other _polished_ words that are beyond my understanding.” He moved the phone across the countertop and lightly tapped Ignis’ nearby arm. “Besides, why text when you can talk? Talking will do you a whole lot of good. I promise, Iggy.” 

Ignis fondled for his phone he knew was nearby, pocketing it shortly after the conversation. “I don’t want to force her to talk to me if she doesn’t desire to.” 

“Ah, but you do want to talk to her—yeah?” Prompto was leaning forward now, trying to look at his face and see if he could find any evidence to use against his case. “Listen, if she calls or something, just excuse yourself from the room and go talk. I don’t mind entertaining myself.” 

“You are absolutely impossible…” Ignis lightheartedly sighed. 

As the two of them sat down throughout the evening and began to chat, Ignis did find some relief just having Prompto nearby to talk to. Seemed the upbeat blond knew the right things to stay away from this time in terms of conversation and he merely talked of his adventures in the Crownsguard and helping out with Cindy. 

Gladiolus had texted them both earlier to remind them he would probably not make it till the next day. He had to have Cor fill in for him and given a few talks of allowing Altissia its own freedom from the Empire and Insomnia trying to assist Altissia in this case, he had to be present at the King’s side to aid in some crucial decision making with the new advisor put in Ignis’ place when he had left for Lestallum. 

“How is the new advisor to the King treating everyone?” Ignis reluctantly asked when the conversation drifted to such a topic after hearing Prompto speak of the reason Lucis wanted to aid Altissia in its own personal freedom and independence. 

“Eh,” he responded with a shrug of his shoulders. “He’s skilled with a spear and spells like you are, but he doesn’t really make great decisions at times on the fly like you do.” Prompto pressed the tips of his fingers together in idle thought. “Honestly, even Cor was hoping at some point you’d come back and get reinstated or something, because we all miss you.” 

Ignis smiled in kind at the offer. “I’ve made my peace with Insomnia long ago, Prompto…” His voice was heavy, drifting off in the silence of the room. “The man I swore to protect and serve is no longer here, and with that, I resigned and wish not to return.” 

“Not…ever…?” Prompto was curious, his heart heavy in fear of what Ignis would say as both he and Gladiolus missed spending time with him. 

The chair moaned as Ignis moved ever slightly upon it. “Even if I by some miracle made my peace with Noct’s passing, I…” He paused, a very vocal and heavy gasp parting from him. “…Sometimes to heal for good you have to never look back; else you risk drowning in a sea of sorrow, remembering what is no longer there.” 

“Yeah, but…what about the good memories?” Prompto leaned forward on his knees. “All those times we spent together in the city, about Lucis and Altissia, we—.” 

“—They’re degrading in my mind,” Ignis reluctantly interrupted, hating to admit that as he placed his fingertips to his forehead on reflex. “Without my sight to aid me as it did, I cannot look at those photographs you took to remind me of the moments we all shared.” 

Prompto bit at his lower lip, unsure if he should say it or not. “I would think to forget him would be worse than anything.” 

“I don’t personally aim to forget him,” Ignis spoke firmly in the matter, a bit angered Prompto would imply he would wish to. “However, only I can do so much to stop time from devouring the ones I hold precious in my heart…” 

“I can tell you—.” Prompto paused in his offer, hearing Ignis’ phone going off. He waited, watching as Ignis seemed to stall in the very thought of getting to it even if the ringer was audible. “Did you want to answer that?” 

He was reluctant to. After the previous conversation, Ignis felt less than inclined to speak with anybody and he assumed the person calling was possibly Gladiolus to update them on the situation. Grabbing for the phone to be certain it wasn’t anything urgent, he swiped it open to answer the call. “Hello?” 

“Hey, Ignis,” spoke April, trying to sound a bit more confident and not as broken and nervous as she had the night before. 

Blinking away the frustrating fatigue he felt earlier, Ignis moved forward on the chair he was in. “April? How are you feeling?” 

Prompto listened closely, noting how Ignis’ voice seemed to instantly change back to a tone he was used to whenever they traveled together in the past—all four of them. 

“Is lonely a good answer?” she asked, trying to sound upbeat regardless of how she was feeling personally. “I-I know you said earlier you had company over, so I’ll try not to keep you or anything.” 

“No, no,” he insisted, trying his best to keep her on the other part of the line. “It’s all right that you called. I don’t mind taking a moment to talk, and my company doesn’t mind either.” 

April wasn’t sure what to add at that moment. Anytime in the past she was interrupting her former abuser with his company, it was usually met with shouting and anger amongst other things. “W-Well, I imagine it’s still rude. I don’t want to be that much of a bother. I guess…” She paused, finding comfort in sitting on her unmade bed. “…I guess I just really needed to hear somebody’s voice again—your, umm, voice…” April flinched, hoping that didn’t sound stupid or needy. 

“April, if you don’t mind company being over at my place, you are welcome to come by anytime you like if you wish to,” Ignis offered, understanding that she wanted to rush this along so as not to be annoying given the situation he had Prompto text her earlier. 

The new offer made her heart beat wildly, unsure if she would feel comfortable in a man’s house that she didn’t know that well. “I-Ignis, that’s very nice, but I dunno…” She laughed it off nervously. “Like I said earlier, I just wanted to talk a bit; especially when you find the time to do so.” 

“You don’t have to stay and my other friends are members of the Crownsguard from Insomnia,” Ignis continued, hoping to sway her in some manner but not keeping his hopes up. Prompto too was apparently on the edge of his seat, wondering if this would go somewhere other than the phone call itself. “Whatever fear you may inwardly have in being here, you need not worry. They are all part of the Lucian law.” 

“I, umm…I mean, it’s late right now, so I’ll think about it for tomorrow,” April spoke, feeling her anxieties over this new development triggering anew. She didn’t know who these friends were and even if they were lawmen they were still strangers. She’d be in an enclosed space with a group of new faces and one person she kind of knew. “Is there an hour that might be best to talk to you?” 

“Anytime,” Prompto hissed as a whisper from across the room, cupping his mouth on either side so the words would travel better to his blind friend. “Say, **_anytime_**!” 

Ignis rolled his eyes at his friend’s persistence in the matter. “Whatever time is most preferable for you.” 

“Close enough,” Prompto whispered again as a joke. 

“Are you sure your friends won’t be upset?” April probed, moving to the window not far from where she was standing to get a good look out at the moon coming into view. “Are you sure I'm not imposing or anything?” 

“I do not mind in the slightest, and Prompto seems to be insisting on the matter as of current,” Ignis commenting, his glossed over vision gazing in the direction he could sense his friend chuckling to himself. “Gladio won’t be here till possibly early tomorrow morning.” 

“Then…is now, fine?” April asked, flinching a bit as if expecting a negative response. 

“Of course,” Ignis answered. “Just give me a moment to step outside for a bit of privacy.” He pulled the phone away to acknowledge Prompto. “I’ll be just a bit.” 

“Take all the time you need,” Prompto grinned, reclining back on the chair. 

Ignis moved out to the balcony, shutting the door behind him as he took a seat on the nearby patted chair he often reclined within to read or enjoy the sunrise alone. “I'm alone now. Was there something on your mind?” 

“The past was just…haunting me is all,” April confessed, not wishing to dive further into that topic. “When you live alone and have nothing but your thoughts to really keep you company, sometimes not the best memories surface…Or they’re just…happy but too painful to think about.” 

Ignis tried to stifle his laugh of irony in the situation, nodding in a sense of understanding as he leaned against the armrest. “I know what you mean.” He swallowed, his throat burning with frustration and maddening sadness that was hard to control. “Prompto and Gladio both mean well, but when they’re around they try to ensure my recovery is pleasant in all the wrong ways of attempting to remind me of the impact Noct had on us all.” He closed his eyes tightly, moving his lip inward before lowering it dejectedly. “I…I hear them talk and it feels as though they have all just moved on to better things, coming to terms with his death far better than I. I am equally jealous and enraged that they don’t mourn the loss of someone so precious.” 

“Blind people don’t sense everything, Ignis,” April reminded him gently. “Maybe they are suffering still but just don’t want to talk about it because they feel that might hurt you more or something.” 

Ignis felt the tears burn his eyes yet again. “The company from them that I once loved so much has become burdening in time for me and my health, and I loath myself for viewing them this way.” His lower lip quivered. “I just want someone to understand what I'm going through and help me without demoralizing why I feel the way I do.” 

Hearing those words come from Ignis’ mouth, April’s own hung open in a dumbfounded means of which to respond right away. “I…I do too…”


	5. Chapter 5

Realizing he had gone off on such a tangent, Ignis breathed out somberly. “Forgive me…you called me because of your own distress, and here I am rambling on impolitely.” He moved his fingers just under his scarred, blind eyes to rid himself of the painful tears. 

Hearing his own upset in the matter that he often kept quiet on the world’s behalf, April moved her lower lip inward as her eyes darted about frantically to try and force the words from her mouth. “I can…I can come over, if you like?” She never thought she’d feel so nauseous trying to make herself stand firm on this idea. 

Ignis paused, eyes staring ahead at the darkness that continued to blanket him. “You said previously that you weren’t certain of that.” As much as the former advisor knew he would appreciate the company, he couldn’t very well bear the burden of knowing April may do so just on his account. 

She wanted to be sly about it and just brush it off but she knew this probably wasn’t the best time to hide behind a complete shield of dishonesty. “Well, we both need to start healing somehow, right? I…” April paused, breathing in and outward to gather her courage once more. “…I **_need_** to do this.” Back resting against the nearby wall, she idly swayed to and fro. “I know you’re not a bad guy or someone I should be afraid of, Ignis, I just…” 

Again, her past haunted her and stopped her from being too forward with someone she only recently got a better understanding of. 

“You need not explain yourself to me,” Ignis comforted when the line went unpleasantly silent. “While I assure you my friends are good-natured people, you will at the end of the day be surrounded by a few strange faces.” He could tell in a few exchanges that she wasn’t a social being and new experiences and new people often caused her to retreat to safety in any possible way she could. 

She swallowed the desire to recoil from the offer she just placed on the table. “I need to do this…” Her words accidentally quivered as she once again hated that man from her past for all he had taken away from her in those long, cruel years. 

He sighed to himself, nodding on impulse in reassurance in the matter. “If at anytime you need to leave you are free to do so. I will not insist on you being in a situation that may make you uncomfortable.” 

“I’ll come over early tomorrow,” April insisted, closing her eyes tightly as she continued to reassure herself this was a good path to take. “Nedalia, a hunter just up the road at Hunter HQ, usually stops by every now and again to see if I ever need a lift to Lestallum with my stuff as she goes there to find work herself from the local tipsters. I’ll have her give me a lift.” 

“What time do you expect to arrive?” Ignis questioned curiously, his own excitement in having someone close who could be understanding a bit overwhelming in a sense. 

April twisted her mouth briefly to the side in thought. “I guess about nine or so in the morning if that’s okay?” 

“I will take note of it.” 

“I’ll let you get back to your friend,” April insisted with a brief smile. “I need to prepare myself for being over there anyways.” She tried to casually laugh off the thought, not wanting him to take it too seriously even if it was a heavy burden for her. 

Sensing the tension in her tone regardless, Ignis did his best to be comforting in the matter. “In the end do remember that it is all right if you decide not to. I will understand.” He didn’t want to seem upset but he as well was feeling a bit of much needed escape from his friends coming to essentially watch over him for a day or two before going about their daily lives. Ignis felt with April nearby some of the conversations wouldn’t dare get heated or too deep to where his heart could ache anew. “Take care of yourself.” 

“You do the same,” April responded over the line with a nod. “Bye for now.” Biting at her lower lip, she quickly ended the call before rolling her eyes at her kneejerk reaction just to try and see to it another broken soul like hers would be mended. “What are you doing…?” She asked in the silence of her own bedroom, tossing her phone off to the side on the covers of her bed. Her fingers came together before her, head bowing in thought. “It’s fine; it’s fine…you’ve known him for awhile now. He’s just a regular guy.” Her brow wrinkled in thought. “I’ve got to get over this fear that’s put in me…I’ve got to! Not every man is out to get me…” 

It was a dreadful thought that continued to plague her. Those years of always being belittled, struck, and… ** _forced_** …to do horrific acts against her will, April couldn’t help but be absolutely at her worst when it came to men as the once pleasurable experiences she used to have with them went up in smoke the moment the Empire attacked the Crown City. She tried her best to hold onto the memories of being with her fiancée and remember what he did for her, but it seemed the human mind was always conditioned to memorize the horrific experiences more so over the loving and comforting ones. 

 

 

 

Seeing as Prompto wanted to stay in Lestallum for a bit, Ignis allowed him to sleep in the extra room he had in his apartment. Another worrying gesture…whenever Gladiolus and Prompto wanted to mother and father him, they usually stayed together to try and combine their lectures in telling Ignis to stop doing what he was doing in regards to how he chose to live and grieve. But in the end, they were his friends, and Ignis would have felt dreadful if he sent Prompto away to sleep at the nearby hotel for an expensive amount of gil. Regardless, it made sleeping a chore for a time until Ignis finally found it within himself to drift off to sleep. 

There were moments where Ignis wished he could dream of him again. His memories were becoming so degraded with time that he worried he would indeed forget the man that Noctis was and that pained him more than anything. That small sacrifice became something bigger in those moments, a part of him almost wishing he hadn’t done such a reckless act and thought to do something else. However, there were nights where he almost did fear falling asleep—worrying that an old memory would trigger and make him relive the horrific time Noctis went into a coma when they were young or seeing him lying there in Altissia, about to be slain by Ardyn. 

There were sounds he hadn’t heard in awhile given how frequently Ignis stayed indoors lately…the pleasant sounds of birds chirping in the distance. He thought himself awake and merely sleeping outdoors as they used to do in the wild back during their journey about Eos. While darkness was a usual sight for the blind man, Ignis found his eyes working in the realm of dreams as he opened them to take in the expansive sky about him and the field of sylleblossom flowers that seemed to blanket him on either side of where he was resting. 

He was scared to move. One false move or even the slightest sense of a reminder that it wasn’t real and the entire, pleasant vision could come crashing down. His eyes merely cast a look just past his feet to take in the serene beauty before him until a figure in the distance started to come closer. 

Ignis noted whoever it was (as their vision was blurry) had black hair and in a hopeful thought, he moved to his elbows to get a better look. “Noct—?” However, the moment that name slipped past his lips, Ignis noted who it truly was and felt a sense of anguish and anger as he took hastily to his feet. 

Gentiana folded her hands in front of her elaborate gown, walking closer to Ignis but stopped a few feet away from him respectfully. “You mourn so heavily for the King of Light who, in turn, mourns for those he left on Eos.” 

He looked about frantically, noting that it was only them in the sea of sylleblossom flowers that covered the realm they were in. “I normally show the gods my respect,” Ignis insisted, outstretching his hand to Gentiana as if demanding her away, “however, you all took from me something precious, and I will never understand why another means could not be reached to spare a man his life for all he had done to bring light and happiness back into the world!” 

“We sense your anger, but I know why that fire within you exists,” Gentiana expressed calmly, unflinching from Ignis’ harsh tone that growled past his lips. “However, it was in his sacrifice that the many were spared and granted salvation.” 

“Give him back to me,” Ignis boldly demanded, his lower lip quivering as he spoke. “You out of anybody must know how it feels to lose someone you love and care for!” 

Gentiana’s face waned to that of painful understanding. “A somber truth, but there is a difference between your loss and mine…” She paused, her eyes opening finally to stare right at Ignis in a sense of somber envy. “…I will never truly be reunited with the one I love. The fire that once was has diminished, banished for there to be light and absence of daemons in the world. But you—if patient—will be met by the King of Kings in your final moments.” 

Ignis flinched, tears cascading down the sides of his cheeks as he embraced himself there in the once luminous field that had now turned to darkness and ash. “The gods should show mercy on my soul…I do not wish to go on as this, hurting in silence to where I can bear it no more!” 

Gentiana moved forward, reaching out to touch his cheek only to have the former advisor of the King move away. 

“Don’t—Don’t…touch me…!” He swallowed his anger to the best of his ability, reminding himself he was still before that of a god who could choose to deny him any sort of happiness if she so chose to. 

“There is no reason for us to take you yet, Hand of the King. Your obligations as foreseen by the gods have not been fulfilled,” Gentiana insisted. “Two broken hearts can truly mend one another, no matter the circumstances in which they bleed.” 

Ignis wasn’t sure what she was implying but before he could hope to ask he heard Prompto breaking through the dream, causing it to dissipate slowly and ripple away into darkness as he came back to himself. 

“Ignis…!” Prompto called once more, shaking him a bit harder that time. 

“What…What is wrong…?” Ignis asked, sitting upright in bed with Prompto’s help. 

“I dunno, you tell me,” the Crownsguard officer asked with a worried frown. “I was just walking by the room to get some water and you were just…crying.” 

On reflex, Ignis touched his cheeks to realize the tears were more than just something he fabricated in his sleep. He tried to swiftly be done with them. 

Prompto sat on the side of the bed where he found room to do so, keeping a concerned eye on his friend. “I thought you were awake at first but then realized you were just sobbing in your sleep.” 

The hand Prompto placed on Ignis’ back made him stiffen, making the former advisor feel a bit uncomfortable with the intentions of why it resided where it did. He wasn’t in the mood to be comforted even if he knew he needed it. “I'm fine,” Ignis insisted, massaging between his eyes to try and calm himself back into a fake sense of relief. “It was nothing more than a dream.” 

“That must have been one hell of a dream.” Prompto attempted to laugh off the matter gently. “Do they always cause you to be upset? Did you want me to wake you up from them?” Honestly, he didn’t want to intrude if Ignis felt he was fine without the help. 

“Whether they are pleasant or otherwise, I…I always find myself upset with their presence,” Ignis commented vaguely, his fingers touching upon his scarred left eye. “As for waking me, you may do so if you wish.” 

“It’s still very late at night or early in the morning, depending on how you want to look at it.” Again, Prompto tried to chuckle and wave off his worries in the matter. “Why not try and go back to sleep?” 

Ignis nodded, motioning his friend away. “I’ll be fine. Thank you for checking in on me.” It was difficult to say such a thing. Honestly, he would have preferred to finish his conversation with Gentiana even if he awoke to tears staining his pillow. 

“Okay, well…ummm…goodnight, Iggy.” Prompto slipped off the bed, taking the glass of water that was on the nearby nightstand. 

Ignis listened closely as his footsteps drifted out of his bedroom and the door just next to his opened and closed to signify that Prompto was indeed out of his room. Palms to his face, he sighed a somber sort of shaky sigh before bringing his knees to his chest. “Gods, help me no longer to feel pain…” he murmured to himself in the middle of the night. 

 

\----------

 

Nedalia did arrive on schedule as always. April waiting anxiously out front for her car to park just near the end of the dirt road that led to her house. She was a strong woman who was quite muscular than what anybody was used to seeing in terms of even female warriors, auburn hair cut short to about the neck while the left side was even shaven underneath. With the daemons now gone and Eos having settled down in terms of that annoyance, Nedalia found herself considering a position in one of the guard ranks be it in Lucis or Niflheim. 

“You’re not bringing any crates with you today?” Nadalia asked, noticing April only had her bag that was usually filled with her phone, wallet, and a book or two if she was caught away from home and needed to distract herself. 

“No, not today,” April answered, taking to the passenger’s seat. “I'm going to Lestallum to kind of hangout with Ignis.” 

“Ignis?” Nedalia quoted as she started up the car once more to head onward into town. “You mean that guy who was once the advisor to the former King Noctis?” 

“That’s the one.” April tried to smile at the thought though her stomach felt as though someone was truly tying it in knots. 

“Heard of that one but never got to work with him when he spent his time as a well known hunter during the years of darkness.” 

“Yeah, he’s told me about his time as a hunter but not often.” April found some relief in that as she didn’t want to imagine what sort of things Ignis was capable of on the battlefield. Knowing her luck it would merely plague her already frantic thoughts of being alone with him. 

“Still highly impressed he can hit his targets dead on with a dagger or even a spear,” Nedalia went onward to say, trying to make for conversation as they had a few minutes till they were to arrive in Lestallum. 

April’s fingers curled. “That good at his weapons, hu…?” 

Nedalia laughed quietly to herself. “Yeah but gentle as a lamb, that’s for sure. Still impressed with all he can do without the use of his eyes. I can see just fine but I can hardly say that my accuracy is as keen as his.” She shrugged. “I guess when you do lose your sight your other senses have to get sharper in time.” 

Her blue eyes drifted to her side of the car window with a twist of her mouth in thought. “Yeah, I guess so. The guy does live on his own, so I guess I’d be a bit worried if he didn’t know what was going on around him with such a handicap.” 

Trying to use the small talk to the best of her ability in reassuring herself Ignis was a kind and gentle soul, April soon was at the apartment room number she knew the man resided in. She could just hear Ignis on the other side of the door as well as some other guy she couldn’t say she recognized. 

 _Must be the friend_ , April thought as she rapped her knuckles on the door. It soon opened, and a spiky haired blond male April had never seen before stood before her. 

“Oh, hi!” Prompto greeted, opening the door further for April to come in if she so wished to. “I'm Prompto Argentum, and you must be April?”

Hearing the name, Ignis lifted his head ever slightly from where he was sitting in the living room chatting with Prompto previously. He assumed it was Gladiolus at the door so saw no reason to get up but at the mere mention of who it was, he took one final quick sip of his Ebony before hurrying to the hallway. 

“Yeah,” April said with a nervous sort of laugh. “April Spero.” She extended her hand to shake Prompto’s in kind. 

“Good morning, April,” Ignis greeted as he extended his hand for hers if she wished to offer it. “I assumed that was Gladio, so I apologize for not being the one to meet you first.” 

She smiled at his apology, accepting his hand to shake firmly to let him know she was there but also hint she was a bit terrified of the circumstances regardless. “It’s no biggie,” April insisted. 

Ignis could sense the tension in her presence and even in her words, making him nod in the direction of where he knew his friend was. “Prompto, do you mind giving us a moment?” 

“Not a problem,” Prompto chuckled, stepping away from the two and heading towards the door himself. “I’ll go meet up with Gladio when he arrives or check out the market or something.” He stepped outside, waving goodbye to them in a sort of way that April couldn’t understand but his vocal mannerisms made Ignis frown at the implication. “Take all the time you want and need.” 

When he heard the door shut, Ignis sighed vocally. “Forgive my friend,” he apologized on Prompto’s behalf as he ventured onward down the mini-hallway. “He assumes any female that I speak to must mean we’re destined to be with one another for whatever reason.” While Ignis’ actions to try and get to understand and know April had their own hidden agenda, he dared not tell anybody of the sort as he knew Gladiolus and especially Prompto would only try to escalate the intent with poor decisions. 

April felt her cheeks warm over the thought, her hands gripping her handbag all the tighter. “Oh, uh…I see.” She thought Ignis was a kind and caring person but she couldn’t get over the idea that the relationship would be very odd given her own inner problems she was scared to tell him about. 

“If you need a place to escape to, there is an extra bedroom I always have open just in case guests happen to arrive,” Ignis affirmed, motioning towards the bedroom he took time in cleaning up after Prompto had used it. “If you need to excuse yourself from the conversations or anything of the sort, you’re welcome to do so.” 

It was a nice gesture but one that made her oddly sick to her stomach. Just looking into an empty room that had a bed dead center of it made old, painful memories trigger of herself being grabbed again and pinned on such a thing to be forced to endure horrific, unspeakable acts of what one man in her family insisted was love and for her own good. Her breathing became labored as her grip on the strap of her bag tightened all the more to where her knuckles turned white. She hadn’t even realized that Ignis was calling out to her until she felt his hand upon her wrist. 

It was a comforting gesture that got lost in the haze of painful thoughts, making April back up instinctively to the point she jammed her shoulder in the doorway by accident. “ ** _DON’T_** —!” 

Hearing the harsh collusion with the entryway’s frame, Ignis’ blind eyes opened and widened in surprise. “April…!” On instinct he tried to go for her again but had to remind himself that she wasn’t all that keen on being touched. “Are you hurt? Are you all right?” Ignis asked, fearful she could have injured herself given how harsh the sound seemed to him. 

 _That’s going to bruise_ , April thought to herself. “I'm fine,” she lied aloud while trying to massage away the pain. “S-Sorry about that, I just…I get a bit weird when guys touch me. A force of habit.” 

Hearing her say such a thing, Ignis recoiled his fingers inward as he tried to figure out what she was mutely implying. “An odd thing to be uncomfortable by considering the fiancée you once had. Did you always have this phobia?” 

April went silent, her eyes darting about in a panic as she wondered how to get out of the corner she had unwittingly backed herself into. 

“I merely ask to know of ways that might be more preferable for you should I require to touch you in some manner?” Ignis clarified. 

She rolled her head back and to the sides to try and be rid of the tension that was rising up in her body. “I wouldn’t worry about it, Ignis. I thank you for the offer.” 

Ignis could tell she was doing her best to move away from the conversation, so he stepped back and nodded understandingly. “Are you hungry at all?” 

“I had a quick breakfast earlier in the day.” She pivoted around on her feet after dropping her bag into the bedroom she was offered. “What about you? Last we spoke you were…as much of a wreck as I was.” 

He managed a broken smile, one that April could easily recognize as being forced. “Ask me that question again when Gladio arrives and we end up spending time together this evening.” 

She crossed her arms casually about her chest, feeling bad for Ignis and the loss he was enduring. “What I said before still stands, Ignis. Maybe they are grieving but they are just not telling you. I…I never really had anybody to grieve with when Samir passed away.” 

On instinct, he wanted to reach over and touch her again but he stopped himself and retreated from the temptation. “I'm sorry for your loss. I feel as though I myself am grieving alone, and I cannot imagine having nobody to truly turn to during such a time.” 

April noted his instinct to want to hold her hand or at least embrace her for a moment but he seemed to resist. Her brow furrowed and as she swallowed the uneasy emotions boiling inside of her, she stepped forward and gently took a hold of Ignis’ fingers to let them hold her own. 

Ignis didn’t respond right away. He was shocked to feel her touch so suddenly to the point his body went surprisingly numb. After a moment of such a pleasing shock subsiding, his fingers curled about hers gently and his thumb caressed the back of her hand. It was a touch he had been without in so long. Not once had he ever felt the hold of someone’s hand that was understanding and empathetic—at least not for a very long time. 

The inner feelings he had for the woman seemed to trigger but he didn’t act on them, unsure if she’d even feel the same at all after the way she acted and had been feeling as of late. The former advisor wanted to feel a connection again. He wanted to feel a sort of love that was more based on understanding and a desire for one another than one of pity and contempt that he couldn’t move on from the emotional prison he had put himself within. Only April seemed to let him breathe out his anguish and allow him to breakdown crying without judging him. 

She was surprised that for a man so tall and almost intimidating his grip was light, calm, and almost weak. His hand nearly engulfed her own given its size but regardless, he held hers with great care. 

“Are you all right with me holding your hand as this?” Ignis asked, not wanting her to panic again or merely be doing something to get over some past trauma she refused to speak of just yet. 

“It’s…it’s very different than I was expecting,” April confessed, not sure how to rightly respond to that. Even as she held it still, she could feel the roughness of his palms from years of training with his weapons and the age of battle from the daemons he took on. 

“But is it making you uncomfortable?” Ignis repeated, not wanting her to do something she felt she needed to do. 

Having a man actually take interest in her comfort made April speechless for a moment. “Well, I have to adjust at some point…” 

Ignis moved his hand from her own. “I’ve had people insist in their own way that I need to come to terms with Noct’s passing, and I will not enforce the same ideals onto you when it comes to this obvious discomfort you appear to have with me touching you.” 

The cloud of fear that had fogged her mind for a moment eventually dispersed and left nothing but fragments of euphoria in its place. They were fleeting but at the same time, it was nice to actually feel something other than fear for once when a man touched her in some manner. Her hands curled towards her chest as she clasped them there to hold as if to keep the pleasant memory alive. “I thank you for understanding, Ignis, but I do want to come to terms with my past at some point.” 

Ignis nodded. “I do too…” His words were nearly whispered as if expecting that to never be the case when it came to him. It was like losing a brother—a younger brother and that made it all the worse for him. He wanted to always protect Noctis but the gods saw to his passing a lot more quicker than Ignis had wanted. “But in the end, we might both need time…or…perhaps an understanding of one another.” 

The way he spoke that last sentence made April curious as it sounded like he was trying to confess something but wasn’t sure how to go about it. “Well, like how you offered me your ear and time, you know I will be happy to always return the favor.” 

He sighed quietly to himself, hating he couldn’t seem to get the words out in some way. Ignis would have found it easier to confess his emotions if he didn’t feel like all of April’s mourning was on the loss of her fiancée. He felt awkward wanting to say he cared a lot for her and wanted to care for her further beyond the realm of friendship. “If you wish to try and heal in some manner, April, I will do my best to assist you if you’d like?” That was good enough for the time being, right? 

April laughed nervously, rubbing the back of her head as she looked off and away. “Thanks, I…I don’t really want to rush anything in regards to that, but I do appreciate your offer. I just need to take it easy and try to ease into things.”                       

Maybe when the guys weren’t around he’d ask her and be a bit more forward in the matter. As of current, he couldn’t say that he had it in him to want to ask if she’d be with him as a partner when he worried what the answer might be given the circumstances that were.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Towards the bottom of the chapter there is a rape scene so trek lightly. <3

Ignis was aware Gladiolus would arrive soon with Prompto, making him do everything he could in the precious moments he had to spend time with April. He could tell in her delivery of her words and even some of her movements that she was adjusting but as the conversation remained lighthearted and on different ideas in regards to their futures, he could sense the uneasy atmosphere about her lifting ever so slightly. 

“Honestly, I would like to work with marine life again,” April confessed during the middle of their talks about what she aspired to do down the line. “Maybe settle down somewhere to where that can be possible and perhaps teach children how to swim or something.” She looked down at the tea she was drinking, smiling pleasantly at the thought. “I mean, it would be nice to work with children.” 

“Never fancied staying in Cleigne for very long?” Ignis inquired, allowing her to monopolize the conversation for the time being. 

“Well, to be fair, I never really saw myself staying in Lucis for much longer with all things considered, but…” April’s voice drifted, the stiffness on the back of her neck showing itself once more to where she rubbed it away. “…I don’t know how I’d want to try and live in the Empire’s territory. I know we kind of came to terms with one another with the darkness bringing us together and all, but it still is a very uncertain kind of feeling.” 

“There are still prejudices, that is for certain,” Ignis acknowledged, still hearing some of it himself in Lestallum from time to time or other crimes regarding it on the news. “What of Altissia? That island is basically just that, and I am certain you could find a means of which to be welcomed and find what you love with a city being devoted to the Goddess Leviathan.” 

April pondered that thought. “As I said before, I don’t exactly have the gil to even go to Galdin, so I am certain trying to move out to Altissia would be even heavier for me.” The very thought she could move away from Lucis and put behind all her problems was something immense that made her inwardly sigh in a dreamlike state of just imagining. “It would be pleasant…I’ve heard lovely tales of it, and I would love to go there.” 

“It’s been years for me, but I can say—without hesitation—that it is a gorgeous city.” While it was the place where he lost his sight, it was a place he still remembered fondly. He kept Noctis alive longer even at the cost of his own vision, a price that would weigh heavy but a price nonetheless he would still accept just to keep his friend with him moments longer even if by voice and touch. 

“What about you?” April asked curiously, though a bit cautious in doing so. “Have you thought of staying in Lestallum all your life?” 

Ignis swallowed the tea he himself was drinking as well, concocting a response. “I am not certain. To be frank, I’ve never truly thought of where my life would go once I left Insomnia. I merely came to Lestallum as I knew it well enough by heart.” He paused, tapping his fingers on his mug. “Perhaps if I were to be encouraged, I would venture elsewhere but it would depend the circumstances.” 

April moved forwards on her knees. “No true aspirations for yourself?” 

The former advisor smiled. “Mm, I had debated opening a restaurant for myself, but I’ve had not the energy required to consider running such a thing just yet.” 

“If it is something you end up doing, I can certainly help with my produce,” April offered. 

“A partnership I would be quite fond of,” Ignis replied without wavering. 

There was something in his statement that made her blush. She wasn’t sure exactly what it was but just hearing someone acknowledge she was useful in some way that made her find a sense of inner happiness. 

There was a knock at the front door, alerting Ignis to his feet after he put aside his mug. “I am sure that’s Gladio and Prompto.” He outstretched his hand, directing his words further towards her. “Remember, if the scene becomes too much for you, you are welcome to retreat to my guest room.” 

April nodded with a crooked smile. “Of course. Thank you.” 

Ignis couldn’t help but be inwardly at war with whether or not this would be a good idea. As much as he adored and understood his friends he knew Gladiolus would have a temper that could flair; especially when he was worried. The last thing he wanted was a large man primed for battle yelling angrily to try and get a point across as he was known to do in the past. Ignis could only pray the man would be civil with company about. 

Upon opening the door, he felt the rather hard yet reassuring pat of Gladiolus’ palm against his upper arm where it landed and squeezed Ignis firmly. It was another supportive gesture that made Ignis lower his head, a bit uncertain of how to respond. 

“Hey, Iggy,” Gladiolus greeted. “It’s been awhile. How have you been?” 

Again, Ignis frowned. The way Gladiolus spoke hinted in a vague manner that he was possibly told of Ignis’ breakdown last night that Prompto walked in on. While he understood his friends were trying to keep one another in the loop of his wellbeing, Ignis personally wished that it could fall on him to say what was going on so they wouldn’t dote on him too much. “Judging by your tone…Prompto has already told you a fair share.” 

“Well, for good reason,” Gladiolus continued, removing his hand from where it was resting. “If you’re having bad dreams, you need to talk to somebody about them.” 

“Not all of them are inherently bad…” Ignis insisted, pushing his visor up the slope of his nose. “They are sometimes…just too pleasant for my liking.” 

Prompto cringed, jumping into the conversation in hopes of not starting off the day on a bad foot. “So, uh, is April still here?” 

“She’s just in the living room,” answered Ignis, thumbing over his shoulder. “Earlier, after you left, Prompto, she jammed her shoulder into the doorway when I was showing her the extra room she could use if she needed to escape the conversations we may have.” He heard the gunman hiss in pain at the mere imagining of it. “She seems to have an uncomfortable reaction towards men touching her, but I feel it’s more to it than that…” 

“So, be on your best behavior is what you’re getting at?” Gladiolus questioned with a raise of his brow. 

“Indeed.” 

Prompto idly tapped the tips of his fingers together. “Did you want one of us to look at her shoulder? If she hit it real hard…” 

Ignis shook his head. “I don’t think she would let any of us do such a thing. Best leave it be unless she starts acting out of sorts.” He headed back to the living room, forcing a bit of a smile as he motioned to where Gladiolus was behind him. “April, this is Gladiolus Amicitia, the captain of the guard of Insomnia.” 

She had heard stories of him but never truly had the chance to see him. Actually seeing someone taller and bigger than Ignis in the room was quite shocking. She merely waved briefly in terms of greeting. “Hey, it’s nice to meet you.” 

“Same to you,” Gladiolus responded in kind, his arm across his chest before bowing respectfully to show he meant no harm. 

Since there wasn’t truly much of anything planned, the four of them sat down and merely talked back and forth about one another. April was a bit tense during the talks but did her best to stay brave through them. She felt surrounded…and while she did understand they were good natured people, she couldn’t help but feel herself screaming on the inside while looking for any good opportunity to depart from the living room without seeming rude and weird. 

Ignis would understand, but she figured the others wouldn’t. 

“So how long have you known Specs?” Gladiolus asked April as he leaned forward on his knees. 

She was confused, having never heard that nickname before. “Oh, you mean Ignis? Well, I guess for as long as he’s been coming to the Lestallum market.” 

“About a year or so now,” Ignis clarified on her behalf. 

“So about when you moved here?” Gladiolus added. 

“Indeed.” 

“We just kind of talk at the market—nothing special, really.” She quietly laughed to herself, knowing what Ignis said earlier in secret when it came to Prompto thinking the two of them should become a couple. 

“Well I can say that Iggy doesn’t get out much so maybe you both should get together sometime if he at least talks to you more than he does us.” Gladiolus wasn’t being spiteful in his wording, more playful in a sense but it still made Ignis narrow his eyes disapprovingly at the Shield getting in on the idea him and April should be together. 

“And how is it you are aware of my daily schedule?” Ignis probed, trying to hide his annoyance in the matter. 

Gladiolus lifted a single brow at his blind friend, getting comfortable in the chair he was in. “Because I’ve known you for years, and I know how things are for you right now.” 

Hearing the gentle chime on his phone during the heat of the conversation being had by Gladiolus, Ignis turned to acknowledge the hour much to his relief. “Mm, nearly time for supper. Will you be joining us, April?” 

April wanted to go home but with the sun about to set for the day, she found the idea of walking home alone a bit more overwhelming than merely staying to enjoy dinner with a few people. “Sure,” she answered. “I-I can stay.” 

Feeling she wasn’t one to excuse herself of her own accord, Ignis gestured to the nearby hallway. “I can get Gladio and Prompto to aid me with dinner, why don’t you take it easy in the guest room?” 

It was like a weight being lifted, allowing April to take her retreat from the trio for just a moment. “I thank you. I’ll help out in just a bit.” 

“Neh, we got this. Don’t worry about it,” Prompto encouraged, heading onward to the kitchen with Gladiolus and Ignis. “We can call you when it’s ready.” 

As April took her leave from the trio, Gladiolus made sure the door was shut and they were a decent distance away before turning to Ignis. “Now, do you care to tell us what’s been going on lately?” His voice hardened, going into that protective and ‘I want answers’ sort of tone that made Ignis sigh at times. He had noted earlier Ignis skipped out on the will to eat any form of lunch with the group and merely plucked away at his coffee. While he was certain Ignis could feel it, Gladiolus’ eyes were on his friend the entire time he had been in Lestallum, and he noticed how sick and weak Ignis had become the last time they were truly together. 

“Why do I need to repeat myself?” Ignis asked, removing his visor to massage the sides of his nose. “You know what the problem is, and it doesn’t need to surface while you’re here…” 

“I know what is wrong—nobody is a fool to that,” Gladiolus insisted, crossing his arms upon his chest as he leaned against the nearby dining table. “What I want to know is why you’re still not looking on ways to recover and just wasting away here in misery?” 

“I don’t require a doctor of any sort to get me through this moment in my life,” Ignis responded bitterly, searching through his cabinets and refrigerator to find what he needed. “Nobody can assist me through this trial I must endure alone!” 

Prompto flinched at Ignis’ slightly risen tone as it was such a rarity to hear at times. 

Gladiolus rolled his eyes, sighing in irritation that Ignis was being so stubborn. “Says the man who is barely sleeping and hardly eating as well. People can and would help you, but you’re too obstinate to accept it!” 

Ignis snapped his head in the direction of his friend’s words, hissing in mounting anger. “Just let me mourn!” 

“Noct didn’t give us all a second chance at life for you to just throw it away like this!” Gladiolus heatedly retaliated as he moved closer to the blind man so his worry could be felt through his anger. 

“Guys—!” Prompto tried to whisper in, whishing they’d lower their voices just a bit as he didn’t want it to get out of control and upset the guest not far away. 

“He didn’t have to do it at all…!” Ignis insisted, shaking his head as he fought back the desire to cry in front of his friends. He didn’t want to be seen as so vulnerable before them. “The gods could have found another means to have the world be at peace, and I **_know_** they had the power of which to do so, but they chose to send a man as a sacrificial lamb to the altar of light!” 

“And you choose to respect his wishes of us living our lives to the fullest by wasting away?” Gladiolus questioned, hoping the next answer would be something he could be satisfied with as his patience was running a bit thin on the matter. 

Prompto had never seen it before, but Ignis turned to where he could feel Gladiolus and got near his face with his own hands gesturing to his chest. “I choose to grieve over the loss of a man I grew to protect like he was my own brother while the two of you go on living like he never truly existed!” 

“We never forgot him—we never will!” Gladiolus responded, a silent rage at the assumption burning in his tone. “Just because we don’t mourn the way you do doesn’t mean we don’t have our own moments where we break down and cry, realizing he’s gone!” 

Prompto clinched his fists at his sides, lowering his head as he turned away from the conversation. He knew Ignis was hurting as they all were but he hated the former advisor had to seemingly hurt the worst. “We…all are hurting, Iggy,” he whispered when deafening silence fell between the three. “I still have his number in my phone, and it hurts to look at from time to time knowing he’ll never call…” 

“It’s not fair…” Ignis could hardly hold it back any longer, his words quivering as he spoke. “I was to be prepared for that moment…more so than any of you, and yet I still cannot come to terms with its reality.” Tears streaming past the shade of his visor, he lowered his head in shame at falling apart as he was. “Knowing I will never truly wake up and hear him again has been difficult…just **_breathing_** has been painful…” 

Gladiolus sighed out his aggression in the matter, moving closer to Ignis to pull him into a tight embrace. He felt the former advisor fight him but only for a moment before accepting it as the Shield cradled the back of Ignis’ head to console him. He wasn’t trying to take away Ignis’ desire to mourn, but he wished the man would find a healthier solution in doing so. 

“Why?” Ignis wailed, forgetting there was even April in the other room just down the hall. “Why did the gods have to take him from us so soon?” 

Coming up from behind Ignis, Prompto embraced him as well. His eyes closed and face buried against Ignis’ clothing, he silently cried for many reasons—the loss of Noctis but also the slow, crumbling loss of Ignis that seemed to be unavoidable in the moment. 

April was hardly deaf and after all those years of having to be mindful of every sound around her wondering if that vile person who dared called himself a man would come in to take advantage of her, she easily could hear the exchange just down the hall. Out of habit, she walked to the closed door to press her ear against it to listen in. While the risen voices were unsettling and made her uncomfortable, the very thought that Ignis was suffering so badly and refused to express it made her cringe in understanding. When Samir passed away, it wasn’t like she felt she had the right to talk to customers about such a thing. All those years she kept it bottled up inside of her and it nearly drowned her. 

“I'm sorry, Ignis,” she whispered more to herself as she knew it wouldn’t be wise to step out during such a scene. “I am so sorry…” 

When she was called for dinner, April departed from the room and acted as though she heard nothing from earlier. She only on rare occasions had Ignis’ food as the man would offer but she never felt the need to accept it as she didn’t want him to go out of his way just for her. Given the conversations earlier, she could tell there was still a thick tension in the air that made it difficult for anybody to find the grounds in which to speak. 

While the conversation was thinned and hardly much of note, she still kept thinking on what to do. Ignis was suffering a lot worse than she realized and knowing how that inner hell was like she couldn’t bear the thought of one such as him going through this trial alone. 

“Do you plan on staying here in Lestallum long, Prompto?” Ignis asked to try and bring a small bit of life to the quiet in the room. 

He moved the rice and chicken about with his fork, turning to Ignis. “Probably just for a bit—I mean, at least until Gladio heads back maybe.” 

“What am I, your ride?” Gladiolus asked playfully. “Besides, we all cannot stay here in Iggy’s apartment.” 

“I do not mind,” Ignis insisted, not diverting his focus from his meal as he was trying to calm down after the earlier exchange. “I have the guest room, and the sofa in the living room folds out into an extra bed where one of you can sleep.” 

“I won’t be here anyways,” April reminded them. “You’ll have more than enough space to stretch out and spend time with Ignis.” 

Prompto turned and looked at Gladiolus from where he sat across the table. The two seemed to mutely exchange glances, Gladiolus giving a brief shrug at Prompto’s expression as if uncertain what to add. “Uh, you don’t live in Lestallum, right?” the gunman pried. 

April nodded. “I live on the outskirts of it.” On instinct she motioned behind where she sat. “Right up the road in the middle that takes you to the Hunter HQ that’s still around.” 

“That’s a distance to live without a car of any sort,” Gladiolus commented. 

The freckled blonde shrugged with a crooked yet brief smile. “I’ve walked it for some time, really. I'm completely fine to do it again.” 

“Well, if you want to wait Prompto or myself can give you a lift later tomorrow,” the Shield offered. “I don’t have to go back to work myself in Insomnia till later in the week, and I don’t mind making the trip.” 

April laughed softly to herself, unaware Ignis was listening in carefully to everything that was unfolding before him. “That’s very kind, but like you said—Ignis doesn’t exactly have—.” 

“It is a fine idea,” Ignis interrupted, wanting someone around who could possibly be a bit more of a buffer so he wouldn’t have a breakdown once more. “Both the guest room and the foldout sofa can house two people, so it is quite all right.” His blind stare turned to her. “If you’re comfortable with the thought, I will be more than happy to accommodate you.” 

April felt far from being so but having three people looking in her direction made her feel almost cornered in saying anything other than ‘yes’. _You’ve got to get over this…You’ve got to…!_ She reminded herself as she forced a smile, nodding. “Sure. I-I’ll be happy to stay.” 

Unseen by April, Prompto seemed to breathe out a sigh of hidden relief as Gladiolus bowed his head to take attention to finishing his meal with a hidden smile. 

Since she wasn’t there to help in making the food, she saw it as fine to help Ignis with cleaning up afterwards (much to his dismay). “You are a guest, my dear,” he reminded her as he accepted the dishes she had put off to the side for him to get to. “It is fine if I do the cleaning and you enjoy yourself.” 

“I wouldn’t be enjoying myself if I didn’t help you out in some way, and that’s not to say I know you need it because of your blindness or anything.” April didn’t want to insult him by accident. 

“I know what you meant,” he assured her with a gentle smile. “Which room did you prefer to be in?” 

Being in a guest room would mean more seclusion from others but it also meant if she had to venture out into the hallway from time to time, she could possibly wake up the other two if they slept in the living room. “I’ll take the foldout bed in the living room. It gives me the space I need.” 

Ignis nodded. “Of course. I just need to grab a few of the blankets I usually keep stored in the closet so you won’t be sleeping bare.” 

Remembering the upsetting words from earlier, April hesitantly reached for Ignis’ arm. She stopped midway through the action, recoiling her fingers to her palm briefly, but eventually found the courage to gently touch him. 

Ignis froze in his actions of washing the dishes in the sink, his body tensing but only for a moment until relaxing into the touch of understanding. He would have asked if she heard the exchange earlier but her actions spoke volumes and he cared not to bring it up. A gentle sigh breathed from his lips, turning to where he knew April was and managing a broken, painful smile. 

When he moved from her hold, she began to wonder if she did something wrong as her grip was quickly removed and brought back to her chest. She was about to apologize when April noticed he was merely opening his palm for her. It was different—a man’s hand opening for her to do as she wanted with it. Her heart beating violently in her chest, she swallowed the uncertain nausea and slipped her fingers onto the rough contours of his grasp. 

Ignis kindly beckoned her further to where he could maneuver his hand to hold hers in an equally supportive hold. Again, it was light—frail and yet warming in a way. Without saying a single word, Ignis seemed to express his thanks in her being there and just being consoling and sympathetic all in one. 

“I…I'm afraid I didn’t bring anything to wear tonight, now that I think about it,” April spoke, breaking the gentle stillness between them. 

“I have a shirt you can wear if you wish to,” Ignis offered, sliding his hand from hers in time to continue onward with the chore at hand. “I will fetch it before you get settled.” 

Being in a new place to sleep was different. April had never been anywhere other than her home for what felt like sometime now. The last four walls that ever really encased her were back at that place she considered a prison in Duscae. It was difficult to settle down at first. The mattress and the blankets were supportive and would encourage anybody into a peaceful rest but just staring straight ahead and seeing only a television and windows covered by curtains that weren’t identical to her own bedroom made her feel a bit out of her element. When she could fight it no longer, she did eventually find herself drifting off to sleep only to have old memories prey upon her once more. 

The sound of a glass shattering echoed in her mind, April panicking as she tried to hurry and tend to it. “I'm sorry! I’ll clean it up!” she remembered herself saying years ago, having bumped into the nearby table and knocking over an expensive vase that he owned. 

His hand grabbed for her throat, ordering her focus on him to where she gasped and heaved for air, clawing at his wrist to try and pull the hulking man off of her. “Stupid, girl! I let you into my house and this is how you choose to repay my kindness?” His tone was hard, unforgiving and cruel…and yet, April felt conditioned to believe he had opened his home to her out of the goodness of his heart given all she had lost from the attack on Insomnia. 

Her back forced against the floor, she felt the rug underneath her nearly burn her from the impact and how firmly he urged her body forward. Tears streaming from her eyes, she knew already what was coming but she fought regardless in hopes he would reconsider. “I'm sorry! I'm sorry; I'm sorry—I won’t do it again!” Her face contorted into absolute sorrow and pain, she pleaded further. “Please, I’ll do anything, just don’t do this to me…!” 

The sound of someone’s belt unfastening was the most horrific and unwanted sound in the entirety of Eos. His grip upon her throat only tightening to where she gasped and choked for air, she found herself screaming in horror as the most unpleasant, dry thrust inside of her womanhood made her relive a horrific memory that felt so real. The unpleasant grunting, the carpet rubbing her clothing against her skin to the point she had horrific burns on her skin—April hardly thought it a dream to the point she almost suffered through it till she heard another voice calling out to her in the distance. 

She thought it was Samir at first, not placing the origin of it right away until her eyes shot open and she on instinct tried to attack whoever was there leaning over her in the dark of the room. “Get away—!” she yelled in horror, only to have her wrists gently grabbed and stopped from hitting their target. 

“April! It’s me!” Ignis reminded her, grouping her hands together in his left hold before allowing the other to touch upon shoulder. He felt her tense but he couldn’t bear the thought of removing his hand given the horrific cries she was expressing. 

Her palms moved free from his grasp as she covered her eyes. “I'm sorry…I'm so, so sorry…This is embarrassing…!” 

Ignis’ brow furrowed in concern. “You appear to have dreadful dreams as I do myself,” he murmured in understanding. “Do you want to talk about it?” He wanted to embrace her but if him just touching her shoulder made her unsettled he dared not encourage the act just yet. 

“To…To talk about it, I would have to keep you awake, and I don’t want to do that,” April confessed, sniffling back her upset from such a horrific experience. 

“I have all night,” Ignis reminded her. “If there is anything I can do to help, I will be more than happy to do so.” 

April shook her head, not wishing to speak of it at the moment. “Just…Just hold me right now…?” It was something she never thought she’d ask of him but her own embrace was doing little in terms of comforting her. 

“Of course,” Ignis whispered, moving cautiously in his means to do so. His hand finding her shoulder, he shepherded it behind her back to escort her closer to his chest. She still acted rigid in the act at first but, in time, fell against Ignis’ chest to try and find some form of escape from the trauma that lingered still from her past.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A bit of a rough scene towards the end, so be mindful of it~.

Perhaps it was the heat of the moment—just needing comfort from something so vivid and horrifically real—but April merely shook from the aftermath of her dream more so than being in the comforting arms of the former advisor to the King of Lucis. Her ear was upon his heart, hearing it beat rapidly in concern, his chest pushing ever gently against her cheek when he breathed in and outward as well as giving an added sense of warmth to the tight hold. It was something foreign she hadn’t felt in a long time—years, if one were to be precise. The times she endured such an attentive and loving embrace was when her fiancée was alive, and she couldn’t remember how long ago that truly was by now. 

The years of torture truly blocked out a lot of the once good in her life. 

“I'm sorry,” she meekly apologized, balling her fist upon his chest to feel of the fabric of his t-shirt he was wearing. Ignis’ hand upon her upper arm seemed to relax in case she desired to flee from the hold he had her in. “I didn’t mean to make things awkward or…to break down like this…” April moved her lips inward, regretting what she was about to say for a second. “…Especially when you’ve endured so much yourself…” 

Ignis sighed, something that was easily heard and felt by April as his chest pushed against her ever slightly when it expanded in the act. “We all suffer in different ways, but it doesn’t mean we cannot lean on one another during these hard times to try and find comfort and a way to move forward.” He could only truly assume what she was going through was the loss of her life back during the fall of the Crown City. 

She remained quiet, hoping he would understand she could only agree on the matter as her hold upon his gray shirt he wore tightened all the more as if in desperation to keep him close. 

“April…” 

The mere sound of her name seemed weighed by an uneasiness she never thought she would hear from Ignis. “Yes?” It was there she moved a bit away from his comforting hug, feeling her body go back to a form of a lonely chill that made her quiver. 

Ignis’ lower lip hung in concern of how to express what he wanted to say. He had known her for a year and while a customer sort of relationship is different in a lot of ways, he felt he had gotten to know her quite well in a seemingly short time through what minor exchanges they had. He was lost—she was lost…they were both hurting horribly in the silence of their homes, and Ignis just didn’t want to hurt anymore.

“I’ve been thinking lately,” he began, instinctively moving his fingers to the slope of his nose to try and fiddle with his visor only to remember the item wasn’t there. “I know not what daemons you truly have in your past but if you would allow me the honor to, I would greatly enjoy being more than just your customer you see on a regular basis.” 

April opened her mouth, only finding that no words truly wanted to surface right away. Her heart was beating so loudly she was sure that Ignis could hear it. She wasn’t terrified of his offer right away, more so shocked as she wasn’t even aware that any of his prior actions were him alluding to this next step. 

“Are you…even sure you want to?” She tried to laugh off the thought that something like this could even be true. “I mean, you saw how badly I panicked when you touched me earlier, and I cannot promise I won’t do that again. Do you really want someone as weird as me in your life more often?” 

Ignis seemed to whisper his sympathy in the matter as he took to her nearest hand and brought it, yet again, in the welcoming hold of his own. He felt April tense to which he loosened his touch just in case that alone was upsetting her, his thumb rubbing against the backside of her caress. “I don’t know how many years you’ve been suffering, but it is time to put an end to that.” His misty eyes stared forward, his other hand moving to where he knew she was in direction to him. Fingers outstretched to touch just a moment of her cheek, he recoiled them when he felt her gently pull away. “I won’t hurt you—I want to help and, most importantly, love you.” 

Her mouth hung open in disbelief, breathing out a quivering sigh that was filled with a form of relief. A man she cared for didn’t mind how socially awkward she was being and, if anything, looked at it as a perfect reason to try and mend one another through a form of love neither of them had felt in some time. Her fingers curled, gripping Ignis’ hand in a sort of death grip as tears pricked at the corners of her eyes. 

He could hear her softly crying. His brow wrinkled in concern as he touched his fingertips upon her cheek to try and heal April of her pain. “Did I say or do something wrong?” Ignis wasn’t used to her sobbing. Whenever he heard crying of any sort he always assumed it meant something bad. 

“No,” April managed to say, taking her fill of just letting a man touch her so eloquently. “I…I just never expected you’d want to do something like that…or anybody for that matter…” 

She hadn’t withdrawn. Ignis used the moment to his advantage and relaxed his palm on her cheek to where his thumb was able to locate with ease where the tears were originating from to caress them away. “Why do you say such a thing?” 

“You’ve been around me long enough,” April morbidly laughed, dismissing there could be any decent qualities about herself. “I'm just…so broken…” 

It was hardly a façade. She had lost Samir twelve or so odd years ago and after that, lived in the abusive relative’s home for about five give or take. It was such a prison…it was truly hard to say how long she had been there till she finally escaped and had been hiding from him. 

“I am too,” Ignis nearly whispered, his throat dry from having to confess that he was inwardly crumbling as well. “However, that which has broken can also be mended given the right time and comfort.” 

April didn’t feel like opening up to him just yet, even after his confessions of how he felt. The two of them seemed to admire one another from afar for a time, not really having the moment they wished they could spend to get to know the other as they would have liked. But in those few exchanges Ignis had become emboldened to approach April in regards to how he felt. 

He, in truth, missed having someone around to take care of with everybody off healing in their own ways over the loss of King Noctis. Ignis wanted to be needed once more, he wanted to be loved and he wanted to heal through those actions yet again. Just waking up to the sound of silence, he couldn’t do it anymore. He was tired of the robotic, rigid voice of Dalphi being the only other thing around that he could and would on occasion speak with. 

“You don’t have to answer right away,” Ignis reminded her, removing his hand from her cheek and allowing her to breathe freely from the foreign touch. “I merely—.” 

“—Yes,” April interrupted as she moved his arms a bit more open in a blind need for something she had only dreamed of poorly in the past several years. The horrific nightmare still rattled her to the point she needed to feel Ignis’ chest against her cheek once more. 

It was Ignis’ turn to tense in surprise as he wasn’t expecting April would migrate so willingly in that instance into his embrace. Regardless, he was mindful, and he slowly urged one of his arms around her body to cradle her closer. It too was something he had yearned for—the feel of another in his arms. The last he had ever felt of it was with a female hunter he tried to get acquainted with during the years of darkness when they went on missions together, but Ignis realized, in the end, they weren’t compatible in the means he would have desired. 

Another thing about April he had to confess he enjoyed—her respecting that he didn’t always need help without his ability to see. 

“I just…I just warn you that…I'm not like other people you’ve probably dated,” April whispered as a reminder. “I might not be exactly what you’re expecting.”

“I would hardly even say I’ve dated.” Ignis chuckled softly in the moonlight that haloed his figure there in the living room. “I have no expectations, and as long as you have no expectations of me who is quite new to this step then I will be happy to see where this leads us.” 

April merely nodded, the motion of which was felt against Ignis’ chest. All she could promise to do was try. A part of her was still heavily uncertain of where the days ahead could lead the both of them in this new transition together. 

 

 

 

Ignis waited for April to fall asleep with him merely sitting nearby to give her company after the nightmare she suffered, but upon her request, left and headed back to his own bedroom when she had managed to sleep peacefully yet again that evening. He was willing to wait to see how things would play out with April’s uneasiness with men touching her as he felt, already, he had seen a few signs that she was slowly easing up to him at the very least. 

Seeing as Gladiolus made the offer, April did still plan on leaving to head home the following morning. She made sure it didn’t upset Ignis in any manner as she knew the confession he made was quite recent, but the former advisor was well aware that just confessing something so personal didn’t mean that they needed to be near one another every second of every day. 

“Just promise me you’ll call me if anything happens,” Ignis reminded April at the dining room table when she reminded him she was heading back to her home to at least prepare her produce for selling the next day. 

As April gathered her belongings and prepared to head out (anxiously) with Gladiolus and Ignis, she heard a knock at the door to the guest room she had taken back over during the morning and afternoon hours of the day for some privacy and escape from the trio. She turned, noting Prompto was standing there. 

“Heya—can I come in for a second?” He was worried in asking, knowing that she felt a bit uncomfortable around men, and Prompto was certain strange men wouldn’t exactly make that fear better. “You can say ‘no’, if you want. I-I won’t be offended.” He laughed off the thought sweetly, not wishing for her to feel forced in saying yes. 

“Sure,” April answered, trying to relax. “Come in.” 

Prompto kept the door open, not wanting her to feel locked with him even if he had something personal to request. “I’ll, uh…I’ll make this quick so I don’t keep you from what you’re doing but—it’s about Iggy.” 

Her back straightened, moving her shoulder cut hair behind her ear and out of her face. “Is something wrong with him?” 

“Well, I'm sure you know what is wrong with him.” Prompto again tried to laugh off the severity of the subject. “It’s just…I mean, I know it’s only been a day or something but at the same time he just acts differently with you around. It’s like he’s his old self again.” It pained him to confess that a bit, realizing how long it had been truly that Ignis had become such a shell of his former self. “If you could…can you promise to take care of him for us? Gladio and I both live in Insomnia and being part of the royal guard, it’s really hard to get out here to take care of him since he refuses to come back home or at least move closer.” He tapped the tips of his fingers together in idle thought. “He’s not eating or sleeping well, and I think with you just being around it really makes him take a bit better care of himself even if just for a little bit.” 

She furrowed her brow in concern at the news that even Ignis’ own friends were recognizing his slow downfall. “I will do my best. I do have his number at least and he has mine, so there’s that.” She managed a smile. “I promise, he’ll be okay.” 

Prompto sighed his relief. “Thanks. It means a lot to us both.” Thinking back on Noctis, he felt his heart tighten in nauseous grief. “We…lost one close friend…we don’t want to lose another.” 

Since he was aware April wasn’t exactly comfortable being around Gladiolus or Prompto alone, Ignis went with them while Prompto remained in Lestallum. While she knew she gave the simplified version of her house directions, she elaborated a bit from the backseat to let the Shield know exactly where to go. 

“You can actually just stop right here, and I can walk easily the rest of the way just down the road,” April encouraged, causing Gladiolus to slowly stop the car. 

“If you’re certain this is all right…” Ignis commented, feeling the car come to a halt. 

“I’ve told you, I’ve walked it before several times. I’ll be fine.” April’s hand gently touched Ignis’ shoulder from where she was sitting directly behind him. “I’ll talk to you later, okay? Thanks for the ride, Gladio.” 

The Shield waved goodbye to April. “No problem. Happy to help.” 

Ignis nodded, smiling at her reminder. “Be careful and take care,” he urged. 

As she was on her own again, April headed back to her home still a bit emotionally dizzy from the events that took place just last night. It happened seemingly out of nowhere for her that she wasn’t even properly registering what had occurred but when it did come upon her from time to time, she often found peace and a reason to smile in comparison to the anxiety that wished to chain her in place. 

Opening the door to her house and looking back into the gaping maw of deafening silence and loneliness, April sighed to herself. She thought for sure she’d be happy just to be home but instead found herself almost wishing she hadn’t made the choice to leave at all. 

They were guys she didn’t know really well but all the same, Gladiolus and Prompto were a welcome addition to the atmosphere there in Ignis’ apartment. While the fight between Gladiolus and Ignis upset her a little bit, April was still able to come to terms with the man’s risen voice and reasons as to why he had to be so forward with his suffering friend. 

She headed out to her garden, checking to be certain everything was growing as planned. Her mind seemed to gloss over in the proceedings she had done so often her body seemed to instantly go into autopilot mode; but it was in the moment that April couldn’t forget the kind and loving actions the night before that made her body seem to yearn for more. 

A foreign touch…a foreign sensation…After what was a lucid dream of torture and torment, she found herself looking at her hands time and again and remembering how gently Ignis had held and cared to them. Like a flower that was suddenly feeling the starvation of sunlight during the years of dark, April quivered with a wrinkled brow of confusion. 

She cradled her hand close to her chest as she found her way to her knees. “I can’t…I can’t bother him right now…” she murmured to herself, not wishing to be too needy. “I want to talk to him once more so badly, but I’ll wait for later.” 

The day was arduous in trying to find a means to pass the time beyond cooking, cleaning, and tending to the garden while preparing for her booth opening once more tomorrow. It was weird knowing she would be going back to work. After such a small hiatus from it she almost didn’t desire to return, but April knew that was the willingness to retreat inside of her shell and never venture out of it if she could. 

As she made her dinner and sat to enjoy herself, April heard her phone going off and knew only one person who would be calling her. It was a relief of a sound (even if startling for a moment), and she quickly answered the call to end the torturous hours of silence. 

“Hey, Ignis.”

“Not disturbing you at all, am I?” Ignis questioned over the line as he knew it was the evening hours and she could be doing anything of importance. 

“No, it’s totally fine,” April confessed, moving about the chicken and fish on her plate. “It’s actually nice just having somebody around to talk to after it’s been so quiet here.” 

“You know you could have stayed here,” Ignis reminded her. “I wouldn’t have been bothered by it.” 

She smiled at the gesture. “Perhaps some other time when you don’t already have two other house guests.” She chuckled to add a sense of humor to the idea. 

Ignis hummed in thought. “I reiterate: I wouldn’t have been bothered by it. What do you have planned for the evening?” 

“To eat first of all and then I guess try to prepare myself for opening my booth again.” It was still a difficult thing to prep for. After having gone sometime without opening it, it felt like it might as well been weeks. A reason she tried to stay on top of things and continue to be exposed to the public so she wouldn’t get this nervous about returning to it. 

Ignis himself was merely enjoying a bit of coffee after having made his own dinner for everybody. Seeing as his eating patterns were a bit thrown off with his depression weighing him down, he ate a bit earlier than everybody else. “Nervous, are we? Would you like me to join you in opening up your booth?” 

April wasn’t even sure how to answer that as she never truly had anybody help her before but going back to work with someone nearby would probably be helpful. “I guess…if you wanted to?” 

“I truly do nothing of importance as there are hardly as many hunts out as of late,” Ignis confessed with a laborious sigh at that realization. He was going to have to find another job at some point instead of trying to rely on hunts for gil. “I would be more than happy to work beside you to get a feel for this sort of work.” 

She smiled, tapping her fork gently on her plate. “I can help you out with it. Maybe with enough practice you’ll learn how to open your own booth and make it a small start for a restaurant like you wanted.” 

Ignis’ laugh rumbled pleasantly behind his throat as he lidded his misty eyes. “It would be divine, really.” When silence fell back upon the conversation, the former advisor thinned his lips inward with a clearing of his throat. “April, I…I never truly got to tell you that I love you when you were here.” 

April’s cheeks flushed, making her nearly choke on the fish she was trying to eat just seconds ago. “W-Well, I mean—it was a bit sudden, wasn’t it? Or…it was for me, anyways.” 

“For you, I guess so,” Ignis whispered over the line, his words heavy in some form. “I did not mean to be so forward, but I have wanted to be closer for a little while now. I'm afraid I'm just a bit dreadful at trying to express myself clearly as of late.” 

“Don’t apologize,” April soothed, cupping the phone close to her cheek. “It’s been years since someone told me they loved me in an honest way, and it’s really nice to hear again.” 

Ignis went quiet, perhaps ingesting the kind honesty. “I will gladly say so again should you need me to.” 

The call ended a few minutes later after her dinner, allowing April to finish up the loose ends about the house. When all of her crates were properly marked and put in place near the door, April slipped into her pajamas before heading to her bedroom to get some sleep for the early rise. She had sent a text to Nadalia in preparation for tomorrow morning in having a ride and with everything ready, she hesitantly slipped into bed. 

It would be a mercy if there were no dreams. Pleasant or otherwise, she always found herself waking in the middle of the night crying to herself over the painful past she wished she could wipe from her mind at times. If she too could heal from the loss of her family and the man she was slowly forgetting the voice and face of…she would do it at times just to move on with her life. 

But she again found herself locked in that dreadful home back in Duscae when her mind played back foul memories once more in the darkened hours. She was in the basement on a cold, hard floor just as unforgiving to her skin as the man who had taken her under his roof. It was horribly cold, April remembering wearing hardly much of anything to keep herself warm and in his vile attempts to keep her from running off again he had stripped her of most of her clothing. 

Her lips quivered, turning pale at the horrible conditions she was forced to endure that frigid night. “I deserved this…He-He’s done everything good to me…” April remembered trying to convince herself given the brainwashing he had implanted within her. 

Her head rested back against the nearby pillar that was behind her only to feel her stomach knot up as the light from the door just above suddenly spilled over the wooden stairs before her to signify that someone was coming to fetch her. April knew who it was and it was there she huddled up even more into her corner. 

She raised her hands in self-defense when the large man hovered over her. “I won’t…I won’t do it again…I swear! I promise!” 

He saw it as a perfect opportunity to grab her wrist pulling her so harshly to her feet she knew that was the moment she possibly dislocated her shoulder. It was a horrible pain that she felt for weeks until it was able to finally heal back on its own as the relative refused to let her go to the doctor. 

“I give you a damn roof over your head, a place to eat, and this is how you repay me!” His risen voice made her skin crawl and her body tense in worry he may strike her. “Now look what you made me do!” he growled angrily, shoving her onward and up the stairs as if to show he had some form of kindness in his methods of punishing her. 

Crawling on the floor when she managed to make it to the first level of the building, she again begged for mercy with her arm in the way. “Please, please…I promise I’ll do better next time! I swear it!” 

His hand covered her face, pushing her down to the ground so harshly April tasted blood. Her screaming was frantic—loud and in hopes someone would hear her and come to her rescue as she felt his weight upon her once more. Tears streamed from her eyes as her body went numb during the horrific act. Even the pain in her mouth and her shoulder seemed to vanish as she tried to put herself anywhere else but there. 

Her eyes seemingly void of life looked forward at the same old walls, filled with the same old furniture she wished she could forget but as she stared off into space in her nightmare, unable to wake up, there was something there that looked different than before. 

It was an animal…? It was small, large ears and sky-blue in color with something red in the center of its forehead. 

Brow furrowed in confusion, April blinked back slowly to herself only to relive the pain and cause her to scream once more at the horrible, unforgiving thrust that was dry and even drew blood given the cruelty behind the act. 

The image was suddenly cut in two by an intricate sword that April had never seen before by the creature she could barely out prior. It was holding the weapon in its mouth. It had lunged over her, destroying the horrific vision and making everything seeming to evaporate about her. 

It all turned to darkness before the shadows pulled back to reveal a beautiful, forested area that was tranquil in atmosphere. Still in hardly any clothing, April brought her knees to her chest and hissed in pain from the memory she had allowed herself to endure. The gentle padding of feet caught her attention, the little creature from earlier coming back into view. 

“You are…!” April gasped, recognizing the messenger as she had heard stories of it and even seen some pictures from time to time in books illustrating its likeness. 

The creature dropped the blade that it was carrying far from where April sat, moving a bit closer but staying at a respectable space as it seemed to chirp at her. When it felt she was more at ease, he scurried to her lap and with his horn lighting up, took care in removing the faux injuries she had received during the dream in hopes of making it easier. 

“Are you all right?” Asked a male voice, seemingly from all around her. 

April quivered, eyes shifting everywhere to try and locate the source. “I…I'm not sure…” 

She hadn’t taken notice of it, but a man clothed in black bent down to retrieve the sword (known as the Sword of the Father) the messenger had been using earlier to take back into his position and to its rightful owner. 

Hearing the footsteps of the male to the right of her, she turned quickly out of paranoia that this would be too good to be true. When April had attempted to, her second savior was no longer in her view. Even the sounds of footsteps seemed to have stopped. Was she losing her mind…? She could have sworn she heard someone a second ago. 

Before she could even open her mouth to speak, a kind heaviness was felt on her bare body as a weighted, black and gold cloak covered her dreamed figure. The chill of the golden piece that linked from one side to the other almost felt real as she touched it in disbelief given the design that she recognized. 

“I swear,” he spoke again with a sort of lighthearted laugh to his words, “I am only one man, and it is so hard to get to all of you.” 

April wasn’t sure what he meant and if it was whom she thought it was she saw no reason to be disrespectful and demand answers. However, in desperation to know, she turned to look behind her where she felt his presence. Sure enough, the man was there and just barely could she make out his face as the canopy above them hardly did much in keeping the sunlight at bay to where the shadows made it almost difficult to make out the man’s features. 

“Wake up,” he whispered between them. “You should talk to _him_. He needs you as much as you need him.” 

Breathing quickly at the light suddenly blotting out everything, April threw the covers off of her body as she woke up to the present. A part of her, in a hysterical fit, almost wanted to run to the bathroom and just shower as if thinking that earlier part of the dream was real. However, remembering what the King said, she grabbed her phone in haste to try and find someone that could give her the actual comfort that she so needed and desired to wipe away the awful, toxic memories that continued to burn under her skin.


	8. Chapter 8

**If anybody needs or wants to keep up with what I am doing, you can check out my to do list below~. I do art and now trying to get my novel stuff together on Wattpad, so I'm here and there!**

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Dreams didn’t come to Ignis that evening but he could hardly say that he was sleeping properly as intended. While Gladiolus and Prompto were nearby he took some comfort in that but also a bit of risen anxiety as well. He always reminded himself of the care they tried to place on him was out of love so as to make his upset not so vivid in their choice of words and actions towards him; and, in doing so, Ignis’ mind drifted elsewhere to the times he spent with April to bring himself to a state of calm.

His phone rang, bringing a bit of urgency to the former tactician as he fondled for the device knowing that it had to be evening still as the other two friends of his remained quiet about the apartment. While Prompto wasn’t an early riser on his off days, Gladiolus still was and whenever that man was around Ignis used him as his own personal alarm to when the day was beginning. 

“Hello?” Ignis responded, trying to wipe the weariness from his tone. 

No voice came but in the distance of the call, Ignis could make out what sounded like chattering teeth and a raspy, quivering inhale. 

He moved to his side, pulling the covers from his body as he tried to make sense of the sounds. “April? Is it you? Are you all right?” 

On the other side of the line, her voice shook once more, and she pleaded, “Ha-Help…me…” 

The words were dire. The way she spoke in such a hushed whisper, Ignis thought for sure she had an intruder or something in her house. He threw the covers off of his body and frantically fondled for his pants he kept folded up on the chair near the bedroom window. Ignis nearly misjudged the distance and location of the chair to begin with given his spark of urgency rushing through him. 

“What’s wrong? What happened?” He kept his voice low so as not to wake the others just yet but also hoping to not cause a problem if there was indeed some intruder in April’s home. 

“I just…need somebody here…” April insisted in a broken, soft tone once more. 

Ignis’ blind eyes darted about in thought before moving out into the hallway of his apartment once he was fully dressed. “Did you need me to stay on the line?” he asked, not wishing to leave her alone with her thoughts even if for a few minutes. 

“Please…” 

Her words were so simple and almost uncharacteristic that it spooked Ignis. It almost sounded like she wasn’t herself for a moment. He put the phone gently against his chest to muffle his words. “Gladio! Gladio, wake up!” Ignis urged, knocking on the door to the guest room as Prompto had taken the foldout bed in the living room. 

Hearing the sudden commotion, Prompto woke up abruptly himself. Eyes lidded as his arms embraced the pillow he was nuzzling against, he tried to make sense of the sudden excitement. “Iggy…?” he grumbled on reflex, taking himself back to the earlier days when they used to room together frequently, and Ignis was always the one trying to round up him and Noctis with Gladiolus’ help. 

Gladiolus was always alert in the coming weeks given the worry his own wife would suddenly go into early labor, taking him no time at all to get to the door partly clothed. “What’s wrong?” the Shield asked, wiping the sleep from his eyes. 

“I need you to drive me to April’s house. She appears to be in danger,” Ignis informed quietly and in haste before turning back to the phone he was on. 

“Sure thing,” Gladiolus responded, fishing for his keys that he kept in his pocket. “Stay here and watch the place, Prompto. We’ll be right back.” 

“Ig…Ignis…?” The voice on the line was meek, almost inaudible but Ignis caught the sound of his name easily. 

“It’s all right. I'm right here, my dear,” he reminded her. “Do you want to tell me what happened?” 

The words of everybody soon disappeared out the door and down the hallway. Prompto was still disoriented, uncertain of what exactly was going on other than there appeared to be an emergency of some sort. He hadn’t even the time to question anything as the two didn’t allow him to regain his senses in time to do so. 

Ignis remained on the line with April but not much could truly be said. She almost seemed to be in another mental state—almost sounded as though she were in shock. A part of him felt ill. Had she done something bad to herself? Ignis was aware she was anxious and sometimes intense anxiety can lead people to do awful things. When he tried to question her nothing truly surfaced. It got to such a point that she went quiet and began to cry to herself. 

“April, we’re nearly there!” Ignis reminded her, wishing the car could go faster. He turned towards Gladiolus, his eyes staring off in the man’s direction. “How much longer?” he whispered curiously. 

“Five minutes. We’re going just up the hill now.” 

“Five minutes more,” Ignis quoted to the distraught April in hopes to settle her. “I need to hang the phone up now, all right? I’ll be there in just a moment, and we can talk.” Honestly, he was scared to leave her alone for any amount of time. She sounded as though a single sound could shatter her to pieces. 

April was quiet, hadn’t said a thing. She merely whimpered and muffled her sobs on the other side of the call. 

“April, are you listening to me?” Ignis asked, trying to snap her back to herself. “I’ll be right there soon. Just…just hold on.” He was about to hang up the phone on his end but stopped himself. “April,” he called out once more, hearing she was still on the other side of the line, “…I love you. Just stay strong till we get there.” 

Hearing the words come from Ignis, Gladiolus’ amber eyes shifted in the direction of the phone call for a brief minute as neither him nor Prompto were told of the two and their desire to say those words let alone date. He heard the phone call end, his eyes darting back to the road ahead. “What’s wrong with her?” 

“I haven’t the slightest,” Ignis confessed, words strained with concern. “She may have just had another nightmare, but…nightmares don’t cause this much distress unless for a reason.” 

Upon the car coming to a stop in time, Ignis bolted from the door on the passenger’s side without hesitation. Even if he knew Ignis would be fine being blind as he was, Gladiolus couldn’t help but worry about him. “Iggy! Wait!” he demanded, trying to catch up behind his friend. 

Ignis did nearly stumble over himself just trying to get up to the front door, but he caught himself on the handrail of the steps leading to the porch and then to the main entryway of the house. Grabbing the doorknob, he turned it quickly only to be met with resistance as it was obviously locked. “April!” he shouted, knocking on the door to try and get her attention. “April, it’s Ignis! Let me in, please!” He tried not to sound intimidating, not wanting to upset her further given the fragile state she had somehow fallen within. 

Jogging to the door himself, Gladiolus gently grabbed Ignis’ shoulder and urged him to the side. “Let me try a few things.” The Shield dug into his pocket, pulling out his wallet of all things and bringing out his credit card. “Hopefully this’ll work so I don’t have to break the glass of a window or something,” he mostly muttered to himself though Ignis could hear his words. Wiggling the card into the vertical crack between the door and frame, he did his best to maneuver it to the lock and try to force the latch backward and out of the way while pushing his shoulder against the door itself. 

Furrowing his brow, Ignis tried to make sense of the sounds. “What are you doing…?” 

“Breaking and entering without actually breaking anything,” Gladiolus confessed as he tried the technique again when he felt it nearly work but resisted him for a moment. Feeling the lock finally pull back from its previous placement, the door moved against the Shield’s weight and allowed them to enter. “You’d be surprised how many houses I had to basically break into to retrieve things from people during the years of darkness—this is the less messy technique of using your credit card or something similar.” 

“I’ll…inquire of such interesting tales later.” Ignis heard the hinges of the door moan as it slowly yielded to them, causing him to hurry inside and right past Gladiolus’ attempt to grab him by the arm to try and calm the tactician to have him think clearly so he wouldn’t accidentally bump into anything. “April!” he called, not knowing the layout of her home but doing everything he could to reach out and find her in the darkness of his mind. “April, where are you? I can’t…I can’t see you…!” 

Ignis hated to admit that hindrance of himself, but when it came to new areas it was only a challenge in trying to locate simple things in comparison to say furniture objects—even people at times if they were quiet enough. But as he outstretched his arm and demanded Gladiolus to be still and quiet, Ignis was able to pick up on the soft crying coming from April’s bedroom just down the hallway. 

He followed the sound, jogging to her bedroom where the woman was still very much in shock from the nightmare. She hadn’t even realized who was there as she had found herself sitting in the dark corner of the room, knees against her chest and rocking back and forth with her eyes staring blankly ahead. 

“April…!” Ignis breathed in relief, hearing the sounds of her breathing getting closer as he came to the corner with ease and knelt in front of her. Without thinking, he grabbed at her upper shoulders only to have her snap back to herself and almost on reflex push him away. Instead, she struggled and screamed as though she were under attack. “April, it’s me—Ignis!” 

The world coming back in front of her, April’s body went from tensing and trying to escape her ‘captor’ to relaxing under the gentle yet firm touch of Ignis who was attempting to comfort her. “Ig…Ignis…” She felt ashamed for a moment, her mind doing its best to replay the times earlier that she bad nearly blacked out and forgotten contacting him in her fit of mental shutdown. 

His palm had found the side of her head, moving to her hair to try and pacify her. Her heart was beating so loudly that the blind man could easily hear it. “Shhh,” he whispered, brow wrinkled in concern. “I’ve never seen you in such mental disrepair…What happened?” 

Her fingers curled in pain, April’s mind and body trying their best to find comfort in the foreign yet welcoming caress of Ignis’ fingers as they did their best to massage her scalp and urge her body into a state of calming. “He…raped me…” she whispered to a point the words were almost a mere breath of air. 

Hearing such a statement, Ignis’ heart squeezed in his chest and his blood began to boil. Even if it was painful to do, he opened his blind eyes and stared right through her with his lips pressed together to prevent himself from letting his anger rise. “Who did?” he demanded to know, trying not to startle or upset her further, but he wanted answers. With the way she confessed such a thing, Ignis assumed it just happened. 

April’s lower lip quivered as the words got caught in her throat as if her mind and body demanded she choke on them instead of depart with the truth. “My…My uncle…” 

Ignis urged the shaken April into a tight embrace, unsure of what to even say. If anything, he was doing his best to contain his anger. It was a sort of rage he never felt in years…an inner fury that made Ignis relieved this uncle of hers wasn’t nearby or he may have been tried for doing the unspeakable to this man for acting so vile against his own niece. Knowing someone he cared for had been violated without him nearby to save her made him wish he could just march her out of her house and back to his apartment, being more cautious over her whereabouts so it wouldn’t happen again. 

But such uncontrollable wrath can cause one to act on primal impulses, and Ignis did his best to corral that beastly instinct as he huffed angrily through his nostrils. 

When he heard the floorboards creak to indicate Gladiolus was very much behind them, he motioned to his friend. “Go back and lock the door. Leave us alone for a minute!” The last demand was ruthless, rattled with vehemence as the tactician was displeased something had happened to April that he couldn’t stop or prevent. Regardless, Gladiolus listened without saying a single word, leaving the two alone. “When did this happen?” Ignis kept to his knees, cradling the back of her honey blonde hair to keep her tightly in his embrace while attempting to protect her from harm. 

April could taste her own tears as they continued to mar her skin in their cruelty. “It’s a long story…” she heaved, shaking her head in disgust at the memories that the nights had been so relentless in tormenting her with. 

His cheek found rest upon the top of her head, his palm continuing to soothe her as he cooed a tender ‘shush’ on occasion. “Well, I am not going anywhere…if you wish to share it.” 

Ignis was in a new house, leaving much of the items in their placements to be a bit of a mystery; otherwise, he would have offered to make her tea to help relax her. With Gladiolus staying out of the conversation, the former advisor to the King remained beside April in her bedroom, trying to understand what had happened as he too did his best to maintain his own inner sorrow in the matter. 

“I wasn’t…I’ve not been completely honest with you,” April confessed. Her tone stood on shaky foundation that threatened to give way any moment, fretful of how Ignis would respond. “Men have…only made me nervous since I lost Samir. When he died, I…the only family I had left was my uncle who lived out in Duscae.” 

Hearing her mention him again, Ignis’ fists clenched tightly in his lap. “What happened?” A part of Ignis was dreading just asking that as the false images he was implanting in himself were maddening enough. Being blind made thoughts all the more dreadful for him as the scenes, no matter how grotesque, would play out again and again before the blank screen in his mind. 

“My uncle, Dale…he…he was my mother’s brother, and I never really got to see him much growing up,” April confessed. She hung her head, a bitter laugh escaping her lips. “I guess now, I kind of know why. But on the rare times he was around, he seemed nice then. He seemed like somebody I could trust if things went bad…” Her fingers gripped her own arms to embrace herself. “…I mean, he was family after all. Who can you trust if not family?” 

Ignis quietly sighed his pain in the matter, hearing her heart break in that mere sentiment. 

“With my family gone and Samir killed trying to save me from those daemons, I only had one place to go,” April whispered in regret as those images vividly pounded in the back of her mind, reliving that nightmare once more. “I went to live with him for a time and…he just changed…” She blinked back her tears, sighing out the painful tension building in her chest. “Or, I dunno, maybe he was always like that and he finally had a chance to unleash himself onto me. Whatever I did was never good enough. He beat me, yelled at me—told me I should be happy he didn’t just throw me out in the wilds to let the daemons tear me apart.” Her knees to her chest, they comforted her forehead as April did her best to hide her sobbing. “Then one night his beatings went too far, and he just raped me…” 

Ignis flinched angrily, lowering his head as his knuckles began to turn white from how firmly he was gripping the bed sheets beneath him. “Don’t…” he sighed out the silently stirring wrath that was boiling within him once more. “…Please, spare me the details in it. I—I don’t think I could handle the very thought of what he truly did to you…” 

April nodded in understanding, wiping her tears away rather sloppily. “After that moment he knew he had me. He had a twisted, perverted lust for me that only worsened, and I think he seriously blamed me for just existing and being nearby, somehow fueling that gross lust he had. It was a lot for ‘my own good’ and ‘being so ungrateful’…” Her crying became more audible. “What was worse is I started to believe him…!” 

Hearing her confess such a thing, Ignis reached over to place his hand on her upper back only to feel her tense in the moment. He recoiled his fingers, letting her be. “How long did this go on?” 

“I don’t know,” April admitted, turning to look at Ignis finally as she shrugged. “When the years of darkness came, everybody just lost track of time for a while. I think…like six or so years…? I don’t remember.” 

“No wonder just being touched at times makes you uncomfortable as it does,” Ignis breathed in some form of relief but also still upset that so much damage had been done to her that she almost had a difficult time trying to see the beauty and love that a man could possibly give her. 

“I'm so angry, because not only did he pervert my view on men, but he made me easily forget how wonderful those years with Samir truly were.” April’s mouth hung open, struggling to speak further as her throat burned. “I’ve had more nightmares about Dale than I do pleasant dreams with Samir, and it just **_hurts_** …” She sniffled back her sadness best she was able. “What’s even worse is that bastard is still out there somewhere as far as I know, and I'm just scared he’s going to show up someday and take me away—.” 

“—I won’t let that happen,” Ignis interrupted firmly. 

April smiled at his desire to help her best he was able. “Ignis, you can’t always be there to protect me. I am not exactly right next door to you…” 

“And yet, you live alone out here and have breakdowns like this often?” Ignis questioned, his tone harboring concern. 

“Well…” April’s voice trailed off as she thought back to the last bad breakdown she had. “When I went missing for a time…it was because I had a bad breakdown, yeah.” She hated confessing that as it felt so silly to her now that she was coming back to herself. “I was in a state of shock, staring at the wall and not moving…I didn’t even bother to eat for a while till one of the hunters up the road came to check in on me since I hadn’t asked for a ride for sometime.” 

Thinking of such a thing, Ignis cringed in dismay. “You can’t live alone like this, my dear,” he reminded her, hating the thought she was suffering so much. “You have to at least be with somebody.” 

“I’ll-I’ll be fine,” April insisted, trying to do her best to go back to normal. “Besides, I’ve lived out here for sometime now. I just…I just have bad moments. You do too, and you’re fine.” 

Ignis was glad Gladiolus wasn’t in the room or he would have openly disputed that. He himself knew that he wasn’t fairing well on his own, but Ignis knew asking April to just move in with him wasn’t going to happen right away. She was still uncertain and scared of him for now, so he still had a lot of care and healing to do before she could reach that point of trusting him completely. “I want to work towards the thought of us moving in together. I _want_ to work towards reversing the damage that man has done to you.” 

April smiled at the generous offer, actively seeking out Ignis’ hand to just hold him and do her best to erase the frightful images that were there during her dream. However, as she had done so, it was there she was reminded of the part she nearly blacked out by accident—the one of King Noctis showing up so suddenly to disrupt and end the nightmare. “Ignis, there…there was one other thing that was a bit odd that happened right before I woke up.” 

Ignis’ back straightened as the words sounded a bit heavy. “What is wrong? What is it?” 

She wasn’t sure if she should mention it or not, but at the end of the day it was just a dream, right? “It was a bit dark and yet bright at the same time so the vision was a bit fuzzy, but I think I saw…King Noctis…He was accompanied by some little creature—I think I’ve seen it before in books and stuff, the Carbuncle messenger…?” 

Hearing such a thing, Ignis gasped and felt his blood run cold. “Noct…!” While others would be more inclined to believe it a dream, Ignis was aware that he was working with the gods and the Oracle in the afterlife still and the closest, some say, that anybody can get to the dead and the spirit world is by sleep. “Did he say anything to you? Anything at all?” 

April cringed, hands to her head to try and remember as the dream was now fading a bit in vividness. “I think he just told me to wake up…? He also insisted that I speak to you because—.” She paused, shaking her head as if uncertain if she wanted to depart with the last bit of it. “Yeah, it’s not as strong as it once was—the dream, I mean.” 

Ignis’ blind eyes stared ahead before he turned, gazing at nothing but darkness still. “Consider yourself blessed,” Ignis said with a dry chuckle to his words. “I do believe that was his Majesty of Light.” 

April tilted her head in confusion. “How can you be so sure? It was only a dream…” 

“Gods are notorious for using dreams to talk and guide others and his Majesty often found himself in their graces when he was young,” Ignis confessed. “If you saw the messenger and King Noctis, then it was undoubtedly them both coming to your aid.” 

She could hear the bit of sorrow in his tone, making her feel a bit bad for confessing such a thing to begin with. “Do they talk to you any?” 

“Lady Gentiana—the Glacian—spoke to me not too long ago when I was in a fit of despair,” Ignis answered, sighing dejectedly. “She said nothing of importance.” Honestly, he didn’t wish to traverse that path once more. Now he was wondering why Noctis had yet to come speak to him when it was obvious he could. Was Noctis avoiding him for some reason? “Anyway, are you going to be all right sleeping here by yourself?” 

April furrowed her brow, glancing away as she sighed to herself. “I really have no choice in the matter.” She managed a smile, regardless of how broken it was. “I'm a bit better already thanks to you.” 

“I do not mind staying here,” Ignis informed her, opening his hand for her to take if she so wished to. “I can either stay here or you can come back with me and Gladio.” 

“I would have to move all of my produce into the car, and there’s quite a lot of it,” April confessed. “There wouldn’t be enough room in your apartment for it.” She looked to his hand, a part of her yearning to feel the gentle, warming touch of a man who loved her yet again. Her fingers cautiously touched the underside of his own, sliding contently into place upon his palm to where she felt Ignis grip her tenderly once more. 

“In the state you’re in, it would be unwise to sell anything,” Ignis reminded her. “Can you not extend the date elsewhere in returning to your booth?” 

April cringed at the mere thought, thinking back on the remaining gil she had. “I do need to get income somehow. I cannot afford to take too long away.” 

“I can give you the gil you so require,” Ignis insisted, cradling her hand to his chest to try and keep her warm in the chill of the night. 

“Oh, Ignis—you-you don’t have to do that!” April sputtered, not wanting the man to feel he had to do anything for her. 

Ignis sweetly shepherded her weak grasp to his lips, kissing the back of her hand several times to try and remind her that everything was all right and she was safe. His thumb accompanied the act shortly after, massaging the spot where he had kissed her to ease the tension from her body. “What I would _like_ to do is take care of you. Just tell me what to do to make this easier for you, and I’ll assist you.” 

Having the foreign words and actions wash upon her yet again, April smiled as her voice trembled under the weight of happiness. “You’re doing that already.” 

Ignis couldn’t get April to change her mind. She was still intent to use tomorrow as a means to forget the nightmare she endured, wishing to stay behind to sleep in her own room. He waited until she was fast asleep before bothering to head out into the hallway to meet up with Gladiolus to return home. 

“How is she?” Gladiolus asked, his eyes fixated on the painting that April had done sometime ago and had yet to remove from the easel. 

“She is still shaken, but she has fallen to rest, so it is best we take our leave.” 

Gladiolus pivoted on the ball of his foot, cocking a brow at Ignis’ response. “She’s not coming with us? The woman just said she was raped, and you want her to stay here alone?” 

Ignis caught onto the mixture of confusion and disgust in the Shield’s tone, making him sigh. “It was something that happened a long time ago that’s still plaguing her and rightfully so. There’s nothing I can do to change her mind right now. She wants to stay here.” 

“Then you should stay as well.” 

“I am abiding to her comfort, Gladio,” Ignis hissed quietly in a whisper. “I am not going to insist I stay.” 

He grumbled to himself, crossing his arms upon his chest. “You’re both hurting so miserably and yet don’t even care to act on what’s good for you both.” 

Ignis narrowed his eyes he had opened, wishing Gladiolus wouldn’t raise a fuss here of all places. “Not even you or Prompto know what’s good for her or me.” 

“I am not going to spout the bullshit of ‘love heals everything’, but it does help.” He sighed in annoyance, noticing that Ignis was merely going to stand there and just be silent in the end. “Whatever. I wish you wouldn’t run away from one another all the time when you claim you love each other, but you never listen to me lately, so…let’s go home.” 

Ignis hated leaving April. He wished he could stay but he was worried if he put his foot down on the matter it would just make things worse. All the same, he couldn’t deny that the very thought that her uncle was indeed out there somewhere was what made him nearly insist on the matter of being beside her. The thought of going back to the apartment to the others without her was torture in the end, but the former advisor did his best to wipe the worry from his mind. 

The whole night was upsetting. Going back to bed felt as though he truly was just running away from the one thing he needed to feel whole again. Mind awhirl with thoughts, Ignis believed he would never get to sleep again till his body finally did lull him into a peaceful rest. 

The sound of the birds about Ignis woke him steadily from his sleep, making him feel a bit ashamed that he had possibly overslept and missed the rising of the sun. However, his eyes opened…and it was there he saw that he was in the field of sylleblossom flowers once more. He cursed himself, fretful of what he would see now or possibly be told by Gentiana. 

“What do you want…?” Ignis asked, turning about from where he stood only to notice that there was somebody off in the distance with their back turned to him. He wasn’t sure who it was given where he stood, so he decided to close the distance between them to find out. 

The closer he got the more hopeful he became as he noticed the black hair of the man standing there as it came more in view. Eyes widening, Ignis quickened his pace in worry the dream would abruptly end as it had done before. 

“Noct!” he shouted, hurrying towards the former King who remained still. It made Ignis anxious. Why had his friend not at least turned to greet him? Had he done something wrong? Was this just another figment of his imagination? Ignis slowed to a stop, keeping a respectable distance from the spiky-haired youth that he could vaguely remember in his years of having his sight. “Noct…?” 

The apparition raised his head, gazing up at the sky as he seemed to smile. “I'm sorry I’ve hurt you so much, Iggy,” Noctis confessed, seeming to be too ashamed to turn and look at his friend. 

“Noct…is it…really you?” Ignis asked, fearful to even ask him to turn around in fear the dream would dissolve. 

Noctis turned his head ever slightly before finding the courage he needed to pivot around on the ball of his feet to look to Ignis. Ignis never got the joy or pleasure to see Noctis in his older years, making the former King remain young in the Ignis’ eyes. “I guess as real as I can be,” he chuckled lightheartedly. “My physical body is gone for good, but I can still remain as this.” 

Tears streaming from his eyes, Ignis reached forward to grab at Noctis’ hands. Even if a dream, it became a vivid encounter. The warmth radiated so firmly in Ignis’ body that he thought for sure the two were standing on Eos once more. Even Noctis apparently felt something of a reminder of what it was like to be alive again, making him squeeze Ignis’ hand firmly and bring him in closer to hug him. 

Embracing Noctis tightly, Ignis felt his legs nearly give out on him. Lowering to the field of blossoms beneath them, the former King of Lucis followed with him. 

“I thought I told you to walk tall,” Noctis whispered as a playful reminder. 

Ignis tried to laugh at the response but was in such a mixture of emotions he wasn’t even sure how to feel at the moment. “I apologize, my King, for being as weak as this…Living without you has been harder than I could have imagined.” His fingers tightened upon the royal garment Noctis wore as if refusing to let him go even if Ignis knew he must in the end. 

“If it makes you feel any better, Gladio and Prompto are hurting too—a lot more than they let on,” Noctis spoke, stroking the back of Ignis’ head. “I’ve gone to their dreams on occasion too to try and calm them down. I would have gone to you as well, but…I dunno…I just felt like it would be the hardest for me…” He frowned, thinking back to all the times he had been watching. “Watching you suffer as you were all because of me, I just…I felt ashamed for a time.” Noctis’ lips thinned. “To be honest, I kind of stayed around you outside of the dreaming world. I hoped if I kept my distance, you’d just heal yourself on your own somehow, but I was also warned by Gentiana and Luna that you were becoming quite weak—so weak that your soul was singing loudly to this realm.” 

Ignis felt ashamed of himself hearing that, making him bury his face against Noctis’ chest. He felt like a child that had become too bashful to look his father in the eyes. He hadn’t meant to slip so far nor become so blinded in what was worth living and enjoying around him. “I'm so sorry, Noct…” 

Noctis’ hands gripped Ignis’ shoulders, gently urging him back from the embrace. When Ignis was able to look upon Noctis once more, it was there he noticed he had changed—looking far older with his hair wildly about his features as he managed to take the form Ignis never got the pleasure to see. “You have something to live for more than ever. I'm afraid I cannot play ‘wingman’ as much as Prompto and Gladio can but I’ll do my best.” Noctis smiled, his expression wrinkling into a hopeful look. “Live again and walk tall this time. I’ll be there for you all even when you can’t see me.” 

The image eaten away by darkness, Ignis quickly came back to himself as his blind eyes flew open and he looked about in bewilderment. Sitting upright in the bed, he wiped the tears from his eyes as he absorbed every detail of the scene that had played out within his dreams. Had it indeed been real or was it his mind toying with him? 

As Ignis reached over to try and figure out what time it was via his app, his fingers touched something that he wasn’t used to being there beside his phone. It was a small totem shaped like the small, furry messenger that Noctis usually had with him when he was alive. It was an item that was said to have been lost with its King—until now.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A more romantic sexy times at last. <3 One more chapter and then the story will be wrapped up~. Thanks for your ongoing support!

Ignis kept the figurine for months to come. Even if it never truly called to Noctis nor allowed them to be together as often as he liked, it still become a sort of comfort and reminded the former advisor of the man who meant everything to him. In the following change of seasons, he shifted his focus finally and began to care better for himself while tending to the relationship he wished to have with April. 

With him beside her, it made going to the market far more bearable most of the times. April was hardly healed of all problems but just having someone she trusted to protect her and make socializing less awkward was always a comfort. She did have to remind herself that Ignis was blind and if she wasn’t careful, he could accidentally grab the wrong produce if she put it out of order from the placements she promised she’d keep them when they first began working together. 

But honestly, with his sharper senses he knew what to find in terms of texture and smell even if she did forget this minor detail. With whatever was left over, Ignis either let her decide if she wanted to keep it with her or allow him to make dinner for them. Seeing as the two were becoming far more comfortable being beside each other, April would on occasions stay at Ignis’ house rather than her own from time to time. Sadly, she couldn’t do this too often as she needed to always return to check on things and make sure everything was indeed growing properly. 

While April still struggled with some things in regards to her horrific past, she had grown adjusted to the very thought of Ignis hugging and touching her as he so needed. It was a sense of growth that even the tactician appreciated, as he never felt her tense in fear whenever he chose to do so or needed to. April even found herself more than ever longing for any moment she could just to embrace or be held by Ignis given how long she had truly gone in fear of being touched by another man. 

Deciding to stay for dinner one evening, she brought Ignis’ mail in for him while he worked on the vegetable soup and bread he had planned. As he remained focused at the task at hand, he heard April enter into the kitchen. 

“Anything of interest to note?” he asked, hearing her flipping through the letters that had been addressed to him. 

“Mm, not really, just the usual bills and things. Oh, wait…” she murmured, catching Ignis’ attention. “Looks like a letter from Prompto regarding him moving out of the royal army of Insomnia.” 

Ignis’ brow furrowed in confusion. He never truly got to spend as much as he wanted as of late to talk to Prompto and Gladiolus but they all did get together at random or dropped letters and texts or even emails if need be to one another to do their best not to lose each other as friends. However, even there were random moments that almost felt out of nowhere just because they weren’t around each other as often as they used to be. 

“What does it say?” Ignis asked, wiping his palms on his apron before stretching out his hand for the letter in question. “Let me have it.” Much to his relief, Prompto and Gladiolus did their best to find a means to write in Braille if they ever wrote anything to Ignis so as not to let him be forced to use his text to speech app. With her times spent with Ignis, April did her best to learn it as well so she could make things easier for him and even read along with him at times if she needed. 

“He says it has nothing to do with anything in particular but he just feels it might be better if he goes to be a part of Lady Highwind’s army,” April explained as Ignis took the message and began to read it to try and make sense of it. 

“The Commodore?” Ignis questioned, finding Aranea’s name sure enough in the paragraphs in time. 

April watched as Ignis’ face relaxed to neutral, trying to understand any hidden meaning behind the words Prompto had written. In a flash of an instant he seemed to sigh in a sort of way that he felt sorry for why the message had to be written. “What did you find?” she asked, moving her honey blonde hair behind her ear to keep it from her eyes. 

“He didn’t rightly say but—Prompto always had a fondness for Cindy, and I have a feeling things didn’t exactly work out for the two.” 

“But…why leave the army of Insomnia?” April wondered as she didn’t truly know the gunman all that well. She thought he was a nice and upbeat guy willing to do anything to protect people but that was it. 

“Noct truly was the reason we even bothered to return to Insomnia,” Ignis confessed brokenheartedly. “I tried to do as Gladio has and stay by birthright; perhaps settle down with someone and have a child of my own to pass on the knowledge of being a royal advisor to the new King or Queen of Lucis, but…I just couldn’t…” He sighed at that thought, bearing it as a weakness of sorts. “The mere thought I’d have to call another man and woman Majesty outside of Noct or Lady Lunafreya, I…” Ignis paused, thinning his lips in a form of regret in it all. “I was born and raised with that thought of happily serving and guiding the two, I dreamed of what it would truly be like with us all together, but the gods never foresaw it the way we all perhaps did.” 

Hearing the pain in his words, April moved closer to him without hesitation and embraced Ignis tightly while burying her forehead against his side. He responded, embracing her as a sort of mute way of saying thanks for just being there to hold onto him as he too still needed to heal in small ways. 

“I have a feeling he only truly stayed to be closer to Hammerhead and Cindy should they actually become more than just friends, but since that has not come to fruition, he has other fears to think of and another duty to fulfill. To make it brief, Prompto wouldn’t be near as welcomed as anybody else in Insomnia if his origins were found. He was born in Niflheim in a very unique way that has left him feeling lost and needing guidance more than anybody. Noct was…his first friend and by right of his friend and King he did his best to serve the people of Insomnia but has found he cannot walk as tall as he’d like by merely limiting his services to Insomnia and her people.” Ignis folded the letter, putting it away in his pocket to give himself the moment he needed to fully embrace April as he so wanted. “So instead, he is going to join Lady Aranea’s army, a traveling army that mostly resided across all cities just helping any who needed her services. She knows who he is and will take better care of him, I feel.” A hopeful smile spread across his scarred lips. “I know he has another agenda in mind given his loss over Cindy, but—the Commodore won’t falter that easily to his wants, and I hope he knows that.” 

April sighed with content, just enjoying being in Ignis’ arms. “Another love of his?” she probed with joking sarcasm. 

Ignis rolled his eyes playfully in return. “When we first encountered her, even as a warrior on the enemy’s side, he wouldn’t stop talking about her.” 

“So Gladio is just going to be alone in Insomnia, hu?” April questioned, thinking back on the Shield of the King. 

“He isn’t truly alone,” Ignis corrected, bending down to kiss the top of April’s head to reassure her. “We won’t stop spending time with one another and will still keep in touch. Besides, he has his wife and daughter to keep up with and they both love him very much. I am far from worried about the man. He was the stronger of all of us.” 

Her arms remaining around Ignis’ hips, she looked upward at him. “If you feel this is best then I trust your judgment.” 

He felt her eyes upon him, smiling at her words. Knowing to still be careful, Ignis leaned forward once more and kissed her upon her forehead. “Both will be taken care of just fine.” Ignis motioned forward. “Dinner will be ready soon. If you wouldn’t mind setting the table, I would appreciate it.” 

For April, it was nice to truly sit down and talk to someone without the worry of being judged. After years of feeling everybody could possibly be whispering negatively about her and her paranoid and antisocial behavior, she found herself at ease and only caring if one man truly felt so upset about the ways in which she acted. They had worked together for some time, doing their best to overcome the physical obstacles that they could when it dealt with needing a physical sort of comfort. The only two that still remained in the way were more of an intimate nature, but April never knew when to really bring up the ideas.

Kissing was starting to become bearable and enjoyable again as Ignis was mindful in only ever giving her a taste of such things by kissing her cheek, hand, forehead and so forth. However, when it came to actual sex…the one night Ignis attempted to even try such a thing, April broke down in a fit of fear and despair. 

All her body could continue to remind her was how much she had been horrifically wounded during such an act and her heart would run itself ragged, leaving her breathless. Ignis couldn’t bear the thought of hurting her over giving her any sort of pleasure, and the act was suspended for several months. 

When the casual conversation continued through dinner, April found the thought plaguing her. She hated she was still very much handicapped in some ways, unable to make this relationship go as intended. Clearing her throat when the talk went silent for a moment, she stuttered to speak. “I-I think I would like to try and umm…be intimate again?” She wasn’t sure the best way to say it without sounding a bit vulgar. 

Ignis paused in his meal, opening his eyes that stared blankly ahead but trying their best to find her in the darkness. “April, you know that it’s not necessary,” he insisted, hearing the hesitation in her tone. “I’ve gone some odd thirty years without it, and I can certainly wait several more or even pass having not experienced it.” 

“I know it’s not needed in every relationship but I do want to enjoy it again—I want to enjoy it with you,” April pleaded, tapping her spoon on the side of the bowl out of a slight nervous habit. 

He sighed, his shoulders slouching in a sort of worrisome defeat. “My dear, I am patient. Do not rush this even for your own sake. The man tormented you for quite sometime, and I do not want to trigger those fearful thoughts within you once more.” Ignis frowned at the memory. “You were so distraught and beside yourself, it’s difficult to get the thoughts out of my mind as I never want to become like him—where you willingly subject yourself to my advances for the sake of keeping me happy.” 

April moved her lower lip inward, feeling the tears threaten to prick at her eyes as she didn’t want to be a burden to the man she had come to love. “But how long do you even plan to be patient with me? I might-I might not even get over this…” 

“Sex does not make a relationship,” Ignis explained, “but happiness does. As I said before, I’ll gladly wait for as long as you need me to.” 

She was relieved by those words but still wishing she could get over this fear and feel pleasure with Ignis. “Do you have any…tips or tricks on how to get over this…?” 

Ignis raised his head to her question. To be frank, he truly didn’t. Each person always got over their own phobias at the pace they so needed to. “Darling, did you ever fancy yourself a dancer?” he asked seemingly out of nowhere. 

Taken a bit back by his response, April blinked rapidly wondering how to even answer. “Well, I-I never really looked to dancing as anything to enjoy. Samir and I had two left feet and so it wasn’t really an activity we both partook in.” 

Finishing with his soup, Ignis bridged his hands underneath his chin and continued to look ahead in the direction of April’s voice. “Perhaps when you’d like, I can teach you the joys of such.” 

April scoffed playfully at his words. “Don’t change the subject, Ignis.” 

He chuckled to himself, grabbing up the dishes that he could feel needed to be washed. “I'm not. Are you finished with your dinner?” 

Still confused, she handed the empty bowl over to him. “Yes, it was very good—thank you.” 

Ignis nodded his thanks, taking the dishes to the sink to rinse them. “Dancing is as intimate an activity as any other, and if you can grow accustomed to dancing the way **_I_** do, then perhaps we will try the other sensual dance in time.” 

She was still bewildered. How could dancing be in any alignment with sex? It made very little sense to her. “Do you…strip down or something?” April asked, trying to find humor in the idea as she still wasn’t connecting the dots that Ignis was in secret. 

The former advisor couldn’t help but laugh loudly at her curious comment. “Forgive me,” he apologized, not expecting to be that caught off guard by her words. “I suppose that is one way to dance, but it is not my way, no.” Finishing with the dishes, he turned to April with a shake of his head. “In due time I will show you what I mean.”

 

\----------------------------------

 

Ignis still wanted to give it all time. He was in no rush and he showed that by letting April breathe and merely drink in the touch of a man who wanted only the best for her. His fingers would occasionally twist about hers, holding her hand close as he would listen to whatever movie or series she had turned on for the day. He took very little interest in some of the things she watched but just sat beside her to enjoy in her company more than anything. Just feeling the weight of her body either on him or her head nuzzling against his chest brought him the comfort he so yearned to feel after all those years of loneliness. 

“April,” he spoke during her break of binge watching online. “Would you care to begin that dancing lesson I spoke of sometime before?” 

She closed the laptop that was in her possession, intrigued. “Yes—I would actually be delighted to!” Honestly, she had been waiting for him to offer this dance that was supposed to have making love be a bit easier on her. She was fascinated in what could possibly be so important for her to learn before taking the next step. 

Ignis took to his feet, offering his hands for her to embrace with her own before making it to the open area of the living room. He knew they would be limited in what they could do given the area of the apartment, but it was enough for him. “Now then,” he began moving his foot about instinctively to be certain nothing was left on the floor that he wasn’t aware of, “there is no secret that dancing is all about trusting your partner at the very least. If I aim to guide you in any dance, you are to put what trust you can into me so I can do it properly.” 

April hummed in thought, her fingers curling upon his grasp as she pivoted on the ball of her foot listening to him. 

“If you tense up, distrust me even in the slightest, I will feel it and you will fall.” Ignis motioned his hands, tensing his fingers to get his point across. “Your body can either be light with unwavering faith for me and my intentions or heavy with doubt to where I cannot move you as I need.” He outstretched his hand curiously. “So the question is now, my dear, do you trust me enough to guide you in whatever dance I have planned out even with this handicap I have?” 

She couldn’t help but be a bit apprehensive in the thought. As she said before, she wasn’t a dancer. “Well, what if I fall or miss a step or something?” 

“I won’t let you.” 

“But, what if I—.” 

Ignis raised his hand, stopping her from continuing onward. “Do you plan on letting your life be governed by ‘what if’ or will you allow me the honor to at least try?” 

Sighing out her worries in the matter, April shook the jitters from her and did her best to relax. “Alright, let’s give this a go.” 

He moved closer, one hand within hers and the other upon her hip. Ignis felt her struggle in regards of where to move her free hand. “On my shoulder,” he clarified. “Now, I will guide you—just follow my lead.” 

She nodded, letting him escort her in closer to where their chests were practically touching. A blush heated up her cheeks as she felt her heart beating against her clothing. At first, her body was rigid but more out of uncertainty of what to do than distrust. When Ignis felt her inability to move forward, he squeezed his inner thigh against her outer, using it as a mute means to guide her to the right at least. 

She moved, almost tripping at first, but the former advisor moved the hand from her own and let her fall in a graceful way upon the nook of his arm. “Steady now. Move your hand to my upper arm if you need to. I’ve got you,” he reassured April, stepping in a circle about the room as he was aware of where everything was in relation to them. 

Following him best she was able, April was trying her best to second guess where he would move next but each attempt was met in failure. 

“You’re unintentionally causing resistance,” Ignis pointed out, dipping her just a bit back with his arm and even his leg to cradle her body and keep her comforted in his poetic dance. “Don’t try to presume where I am going, just enjoy the experience or it will not be near as pleasurable.” 

“S-Sorry,” she apologized in haste, letting him bring her back upright to continue onward. 

“A dance is a sweet and loving conversation between two people,” Ignis went onward to explain as the hand from her back moved to her side once more in preparation for the next step. When he felt her relax, his palm casually slipped down the length of her outer thigh before caressing and cradling the bend of her leg to urge her closer to him, their bodies near intertwined. “Let me lead the conversation for now until you feel comfortable,” he whispered near her ear. 

The balmy words of his insisting on the matter made April’s mouth open in a desire to speak but no words left her. Her throat had gone dry in a want for more that she hadn’t experienced in some time. The build within her was slow and steady just as it had been years prior in those deluded memories she had with her fallen lover. Ignis’ hands were careful and yet coy in their acts as he would caress upon her body to get her to bend and move in sync with his. Even his own legs would cradle about her body cautiously to try and urge her in the right directions and give her a resting place on his knee or thigh for when he needed to move her in elegancy. 

In time, April hadn’t noticed it, but she had loosened up and fell right into his rhythmical conversation. The mere dip became a bit more with him stealing a kiss upon the flesh that was exposed to him there on her chest. April’s pastel colored shirt had fallen just over her shoulder and in the heat of the moment, he soothed her worries of the exposure with a modest, sincere act of a tender kiss. 

Ignis didn’t take advantage of anything. He didn’t take advantage of her vulnerability in the moment or even that she had subconsciously fell into his kind narrative of the evening. He moved her in a sensual rhythm but never acted the predator upon her walls coming down in the lucid moment. 

When his dance came to an end, he paused with her close to his chest—feeling in the heat of their bodies and the steadying breathing of them both given how aggressively this dance had truly become, going from a small, romantic lullaby to something far more passionate and fiery in existence. In the heavy stillness of the room, April could clearly see now what he meant by how sensual a dance could be. 

Their hearts were racing together, his body had moved with hers in a loving and romantic way without the use of being in bed together. In the prime, heated climatic end to their subtle conversation, she found herself desiring a bit more than just a dance. 

Her fingertips graced Ignis’ cheeks, bringing him closer to where she stood in relevance to him. The kiss was simple as he expected, allowing her to lead in this matter as he himself had little expertise in such a thing. Her eyes lidded with a desire for more, she tilted her head to the side and rolled her tongue upon his oral barrier in hopes to entice him to know what to do next. 

It was just a kiss she wanted for now—the rest could come later. 

“This is where you lead,” he whispered to April as a reminder, his words wet and brushing against her mouth as he spoke. “I'm afraid I'm not as well versed in these things as you were with your fiancée.” 

“Just follow me then,” she spoke kindly in return, eyes closing as she focused merely on something enjoyable that had been robbed of her for so many years. Her tongue casually stroking upon his lower lip once more, Ignis complied best he knew how and allowed her the entrance she so craved. 

His breath was warm and inviting, filling her with a renewed sense of hope that she could get through this. Her tongue tasted of the droplets of his saliva, craving more as she moaned in a want for such. 

Ignis cradled her close, his own wet muscle caressing and invoking excitement in himself as well as her unknowingly. He knew better than to act on it and merely enjoyed in the sensual taste that was far better than any drink he could think of. In a yearning to keep her close, he embraced April and kissed her all the more before slowing the needy pace so as not to bring fear into an otherwise loving act. 

“How do you feel now?” Ignis asked, nudging his nose against her cheek where the warmth of it unintentionally excited his senses. 

“That I can perhaps get through this in time,” April responded with a sense of hope that was burning brighter than any fire on Eos.

 

\----------------------------------

 

The dancing became more a common practice through the weeks ahead. What April had at first saw no interest or need to do became something more of a mental and physical exercise with her loving partner. In honest, she did enjoy the act a lot more than she assumed she would. When she was given the power to lead the dance in time, she did so with greater ease than just following him. While she trusted Ignis, she trusted herself far more—knowing what her limits were and what she needed to focus on. 

“You appear more in your element when you’re escorting me,” Ignis pointed out one evening as he felt April’s inner thigh squeeze his outer, adjusting him in his position to where he could catch her in the ever romantic dip she enjoyed. “Would you prefer to always be in control?” 

“Well, not always,” she answered when her upper body snapped back to attention after the graceful gesture. “I guess…in new and scary situations, it just feels right to me somehow.” 

“Would you feel more at ease in doing so in the bedroom?” Ignis questioned, bringing the dance to a slow and steady halt at the idea. 

April’s eyes darted about in thought. “I…” 

“To be frank, my dear, I am very new to this, so guiding me would be something you’d have to do regardless,” he reminded her, kissing her forehead. “You would have control over me, and will have the freedom to do whatever you please within reason.” 

It had been more than a year now, and April was comfortable being with Ignis and understanding that he would never force her to do anything in such a vulnerable situation just as he’d proven many times before. He shouldn’t have to keep proving himself and it was there she nodded firmly while squeezing his hand. “Alright…I’ll do that instead.” 

Ignis was careful with escorting her to the bedroom. He didn’t shut the door. He saw no reason to. Least of all, he didn’t want April to feel imprisoned and that she had to submit to the idea of what was ahead. Doing his best to ease the tension from her body, he kissed her sweetly and merely embraced her for the time being. 

The hold doing its magic, April began to nervously undress herself. It was oddly a bit affirming that Ignis was blind. He wouldn’t visually have to see her chubbiness though a part of her did worry of him feeling it and commenting on it down the line. She had always had this slightly wider body as the stress and her aging really destroyed the ability for her body to burn fat like it used to. It was upsetting, really hurting her inner image of herself but even the times she mentioned it to Ignis, he didn’t seem to care; especially as of late, seeing as he was feeding her a majority of the time and keeping a mindful note on her eating habits. 

“You will have to undress me as well,” he reminded her, his hands finding hers in time. “Over everything, you will have complete control.” 

April’s fingers gripped upon the suspenders Ignis had in place, looping them about the brown leather to unravel them and let them fall to his sides to where he could maneuver out of them with ease. Her touch was hesitant at first, moving towards his white, button-up shirt only to recoil for a second until the courage reignited within them to try again. 

He felt her fingers dance about the buttons freely, his shirt loosening to the point he was able to remove it next. When he felt her hands go for his pants, however, it was there he kindly gripped upon her wrists as if to halt her. “It can wait,” he assured her. “Each dance starts off slowly before building in momentum when both are in sync with one another.” 

She laughed quietly in relief, her cheeks resting upon his bare chest as she embraced him in the dim lighting of the bedroom once his grip loosened. “Thank you,” she whispered, her fears ebbing away in gesture of his kindness. “Trust me then in where I decide to guide your hands.” 

Ignis tilted his head to the side, listening to the sounds around him. He heard her discard something else in her possession, but he couldn’t be too sure of what it was. Her hand found his own in the darkness of his mind and it was there his touch came upon the nook of her neck. Ignis made certain he was not mistaken as he tenderly touched the area about it. In doing so, he noticed the straps of her bra were gone. 

“Are you allowing me to…?” he questioned, wanting to be certain he wasn’t misunderstanding what her intentions were. 

“It’s fine,” April responded, her shoulders seeming to rest under the weight of his palm. “I have faith in you more than anybody.” 

“You are free to tell me when to stop,” Ignis reminded her. His hand began to move, the tips of his fingers took in every part of her as he courageously shepherded his caress down to her exposed breasts. She was warm, so inviting in a way that made him breathe in delight as his hand found the firm, roundness of her bust in the midst of his palm in time. He was gentle, pressing his thumb against the side of the one he held to excite a pleasurable moan from her that he felt he hadn’t heard in sometime. 

It was melodious, urging him onward as his thumb moved in to roll over the erect nipple. Noting the texture difference, he was mindful in his tender touch only to shift to her hips and escort her to the bed. 

She sat without hesitation, only curious what was on his mind as she did so. Watching ever closely, the warm breath of Ignis bathed the erect nub before his lips kissed upon it as though it were her mouth he was occupying. Bringing her hand to the back of his dirty blond hair, she let her own caress venture through the strands sweetly to tell him to continue in a voiceless fashion. 

The tender kiss turned to more, his mouth enveloping the sensitive mound like a newborn as he breathed heavily through his nostrils while his tongue flicked upon the nipple excited for his attention. He felt April jerk in reaction, making him stall for a mere moment as he listened carefully as she cried out heatedly—a sort of erotic cry he hadn’t been used to from her—making it all the more enticing. He drew circles around the sensitive outer ring, pushing against the erect nub yet again to tempt such a foreign sound to continue. Her moans were quiet, encouraging nonetheless, and so Ignis trailed from one to the other, giving it the attention it too deserved as his free thumb began to maneuver about in a circular motion to keep the one he was previously on occupied. 

April closed her eyes, taking in the sensation her body only had distant, lucid dreams about. Lower lip quivering, she moved her knees together as if to be ladylike and do her best not to let the lubrication become obvious even if she knew he couldn’t see it—it was purely out of reflex. “Oh, I-Ignis…!” April praised, eyes openly slowly to the world around her to remind herself through her sexual high that it was real. 

He pulled from the attention he had given her breasts. Ignis broke the string of saliva that connected his lips to her, wiping it away with the sides of his fingers in a rather gentlemanly fashion. “I promised you could be on top of me and do as you wished. Let me continue to uphold my promise, my love.” 

Finding his way onto the bed, he rested upon his back to give her the freedom that she so wanted. Seeing him lying in such a way that she could easily overtake him if she wanted, April merely smiled as the weight of her partially clothed form blanketed his own. “Thank you…” She choked on those words in a form of happiness near long forgotten. A kiss was left upon Ignis’ forehead. “Thank you for all that you’ve done and continue to do…” 

He breathed a nasally laugh. “It is far from over unless you want it to be,” Ignis reminded her. His fingers finding her wavy hair, he let the strands play with his fingers for a moment till she moved away to undress herself and him further. April’s naked thighs clenched upon his own and as he felt the obvious dampness of her womanhood upon his own engorged length, he cocked a brow at the thought. “Right now…? Are you certain you’re even wet enough for this task?” The last thing he wished was for her to be too dry to handle him. 

“Only one way to find out, I guess.” It had been so long for her that she wasn’t even certain what her body could and couldn’t take anymore. Grabbing onto the base of his erection, she positioned the head of him right before her entrance. Swallowing back any anxiety in the matter, she urged him into her but right at the second she tried, she was indeed met with a bit of resistance.

“Wa-Wait…!” Ignis stuttered, his eyes flying open as he wasn’t used to the tightness himself but wasn’t about to fight in getting her to fit all of him within her body. “Hold on, my dear—!” He breathed steadily, doing his best to get himself back under control. If he were to be honest, in that one moment he almost did release inside of her given how much of a virgin he was to the sensation. “Let me assist you a bit more, perhaps?” 

“How would you want to…?” April questioned breathlessly. 

Ignis motioned to her, asking her to come forward with his index and middle fingers beckoning towards him. 

He was asking her to his face but she couldn’t help but blush at the thought. “I-I’ll be too heavy for you to keep upon just your lips, Ignis…!” 

“You are not ‘too heavy’,” he gently scolded, knowing what she was implying in the matter. “Come now, I have everything under control.” 

Positioning herself just over his face under his guidance, Ignis lovingly nuzzled against the hood of her entrance. It was an aroma he had never smelt before, exciting him all the more when he realized it was that of a woman he loved eager to connect with him as he was with her. The flat of his tongue slowly, ( _sensually)_ moved from the back to the front—flicking quick and hard on her swollen clit to excite her further. 

April’s thighs tensed, her body arched into the act as she cried out heatedly only to have her teeth gently bite upon the curve of her index finger to silence herself. They were still very much in his apartment and sound could easily carry given how paper thin the walls seemed to be. 

His hands kept a firm grip on her hips as his tongue went from lovingly petting her womanhood to venturing inside with a throaty hum of want. The heated air that passed from his nostrils beckoned to her swollen sex, urging her into a more vocal stance. She could feel the width of the wet muscle digging inside of her, curling back to try and excite her sensitive, lubricated walls all the more in preparation for what was ahead. Ignis’ own throbbing want twitched at the sounds, the smells and the taste that in time spilled over his tongue the more he continued greedily. 

She reached to the headboard, grabbing onto it to steady herself as her body beckoned to his movements. The blossoming flower of ecstasy was gardened all the more by his actions, making her cries become even more audible, almost uncaring of whom would hear at this point. “Oh, gods—Ignis…!” she praised heatedly, bucking her hips forward to where he had to pause her in the act. 

Panting breathlessly himself, he guided her body backward just a bit. “N-Now try, my angel…” he insisted, once again wiping away the bits of her own lubrication from his mouth he could still feel. 

Once more, April grabbed onto the base of his cock and stroked the sensitive organ before readying them both yet again. The tip of his manhood gently pressed upon the damp petals of her entrance, encouraging them further to open the more she—with ease—pushed herself downward. Ignis was completely sheathed within her, making her fall forward to where her hands rested upon his chest. 

Ignis flexed to meet the weight of her palms, flinching from the erotic, tight fit that made him nearly cum right away. But he held back, panting hotly as he was slow and steady with his rhythm to allow April the time she needed to adjust to the years she had gone without being allowed to consent to such an act before. She had the power she wanted and needed, making him grab onto her hands and hold them tightly to give her the support she would require. Whatever speed she wished to achieve, he would do his best to keep up. 

Every harmonious thrust within her was a divine sensation he could hardly properly speak of. The blindness truly aided in it being overwhelming as he felt every ridge inside of her and could even sense the oncoming orgasm her body warned of when it squeezed him at a time as if demanding he hold in place. He could sense his own mounting arousal easily from himself as his swollen erection leaked in warning. 

April moved upon her elbows, coming in close to Ignis’ lips to kiss upon him time and again in a rather sloppy manner; only ecstasy truly guided her actions and it was a state of blissful blindness. “I'm going to cum…!” she warned, the euphoric sensation reaching its peak within her stomach and needing its release. 

“I will follow,” he whispered in return, breathless as he wrapped his arms tightly about April to keep her still and let her feel the wet warmth of his own body that had become dewed with sweat. 

It washed over her with such intensity she hardly even knew how to react. The tightness of her walls became tighter as they clenched a loving grip upon Ignis’ length, urging him to respond in kind. It was a hot warmth that rushed inside of her body, filling her with the determination to be rid of that horrible old memory once in for all when it came to bathing in the love of someone who truly did love her. 

Ignis clenched his teeth, doing his best shortly after to come down from his sexual high as it was a sort of adrenaline he wasn’t used to coursing through his body. It blinded his other senses but he cared not. His breath was ragged, misty eyes opened to try and find April in the darkness of his mind. “How…How do you feel now, my love?” he asked, hopeful as he let her rest upon his chest. 

If he weren’t against the covers, she would have hugged him a bit better than she was able to in that moment. A smile no longer broken or weighed down by fear, she nuzzled against his bare breast. “Better…so, so much better…And I have you to thank for it, Ignis.” Her eyes closed, April’s mind and heart in far better places. “I love you, Ignis.” 

Doing the best he could, he moved forward and kissed her upon the top of her head as his senses did their best to regain their traction. “As I love you, my dear.”


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Final chapter, my dears. Thank you, K, for allowing and trusting me to write these two together. Your OC is a lovely lady, and it was an honor to do this story with her! Much love and I wish you luck with all things ahead for you~.

The ringing of Ignis’ phone woke him one evening while he was resting on the sofa in his home. Moaning softly in a bit of annoyance having been through quite a few different calls recently, he answered it regardless knowing that at that hour it could be anybody. “Hello?” 

“Did I wake you or something, Iggy?” 

Hearing the familiar voice, Ignis sat upright just a bit to get more comfortable. “It’s been another exhausting day, Prompto. I apologize.” 

“No need to apologize,” Prompto insisted over the line with a chuckle. “I was about to say it was only seven in the evening over there or so it should be in Altissia.” 

“You are not mistaken, I am sure,” Ignis laughed in return as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes. “I was merely trying to finalize everything at my restaurant for the day, per usual. Everything should hopefully be in place for its opening soon.” 

It had been nearly two years since he scrounged up the gil needed to move to Altissia in hopes of opening and maintaining a restaurant of his very own. While he told others that was his main desire and reasons for moving there, it wasn’t entirely true—it was just to avoid people knowing information that they shouldn’t know in regards to his partner. 

“How are things? How is April?” 

“She appears to be doing far better now that we’re out of Lucis and away from that ‘man’s’ reach,” Ignis expressed, rubbing the back of his neck to try and ease away the stiffness he could feel there. No doubt a stressful build up from the long, rough hours of the day. 

Even as April had taken the steps she felt she needed to become better, she still had horrific breakdowns and dreadful nightmares reminding her of the past. The very idea she had no idea if her uncle was even still alive and around made the haunting thought all the worse. However, she was reassured that he wasn’t exactly well off last she recalled and the very thought he could get across the ocean to Altissia was what kept them both safe. 

Ignis couldn’t stand it anymore…he couldn’t stand the very fear that the woman he loved could be dragged away from him when she or he were at work. Worse of all that Ignis could be charged for killing a man just for all Dale had done to his niece. They both needed an escape, and after talking her into the idea regarding the move to Altissia, they both did so. 

“She’s not completely better, but I have noticed far less fearful nights for her,” Ignis continued. Slipping his feet into his slippers just nearby, he made his way to the kitchen to get himself an Ebony he kept stalked in the fridge. He figured the energy would do him some good at the very least. “The swimming classes she has with children has been a nice distraction for her as well. She appears to be enjoying herself and that has me relieved. What of yourself?” 

Prompto’s small laugh resonated over the line. “Not much, really. We’ve been hanging out in Tenebrae for a bit. I think Aranea wants to settle somewhere instead of being a wandering army.” 

Ignis nodded in understanding, drinking a bit of the coffee. “Not much use for such things anymore, I'm afraid. It is better to just be an army stationed at one capital.” 

“Yeah,” the gunman nervously laughed. “I would have gone back to Insomnia if that were the case since we might no longer be serving the masses but—Noct told me it was okay—I should do whatever makes me walk tall.” 

A smile brimmed on the rim of the Ebony can as he pulled it away to ponder that thought. “Sounds like him alright.” As of late, Ignis never got a chance to see Noctis, but he wasn’t resentful. He more than understood Noctis could never truly rest as he had to maintain peace and balance for Eos even in the afterlife with Lunafreya and the other Oracles and past Lucian Kings. 

“I know even Aranea thought of just quitting fighting all together but I doubt she’s going to. She’s said before she’s ‘ _come into this world screaming while covered in someone else’s blood and she has no problems going out the same way_ ’ or something like that.” He chuckled nervously at the slight vulgarity of it given whom he was repeating it to. “So I have a feeling that means she’s going to be an old woman, still very much with spear in hand.” 

“To be honest, she never struck me as a motherly type or one to settle down into a retired life,” Ignis confessed, rolling his eyes a bit at the quote Prompto relayed to him earlier. “More the ever doting older sibling who wanted everybody to be their best.” His hand outstretched to locate the sofa, still adjusting to the layout of their house they managed to buy after being holed up in an apartment till their jobs and ideas fell into place. 

“Yeah…uh…one way to look at it.” 

He rose a single brow, getting comfortable on the cushions of the black velvet couch. “You disagree?” 

“I mean, I'm not getting any younger, and I know she isn’t either, but I’d like to think we could settle down at **_some_** point, and I’d rather not think of settling down with my older sister in the future, thanks.” 

Ignis chuckled to himself. “So you managed to get her to say yes to your advances then?” 

“Well, **_no_** —that’s not what I meant!” Prompto tried to defend quickly. “I-I just…I mean, maybe someday…” 

“Take it from somebody who waited far too long himself—don’t wait any longer,” Ignis counseled, taking another long sip from his drink. “Waiting doesn’t make it any easier.” 

Prompto seemed to sigh a bit in defeat. “Yeah, well…there’s that rejection thing.” 

“Then you look for someone else,” Ignis encouraged. “I know that’s not what you wish to hear, but the sooner you know the better it is for you.” 

“Yeah…Not getting any younger and all of that,” he repeated before clearing his throat, changing the topic. “Anyways, I do hope things go well with your big opening. Let Gladio and I know when it does, so we can stop by sometime.” 

“I will. Send my best to Aranea and the others. Take care, Prompto.” 

“See ya, Igster.” 

Hanging up the phone, Ignis attempted to lie back down once more after he put aside his Ebony. The moment his head touched the pillow, however, he heard the distant barking of their dog accompanied by April’s voice muffled by the doorway that led into the main lower hallway of the building. Claws were trying to push open the door leading into the living room, making Ignis grumble as he knew that those claws were chipping away at the woodwork as he thought about it. 

“Dragon, stop that!” Ignis scolded with a sigh. They were trying to teach the dog not to claw at the wooden doors even as a sign to go outside as it was starting to tear apart the joinery in doing so. However, the dog was said to be only a year old when they took him to a vet. He was a rescue, a dog so sick and underfed that April pleaded they take him in when they found him sometime shortly after getting their new house. Since he was a bit wild with no training whatsoever and so young, Ignis knew it was like training a child not to do certain things. 

With the door opened with April’s help, the German Shepherd hurried into the living room panting up a storm. The sound of the dog got louder and louder till it was right in Ignis’ ear. Dragon sniffed feverishly, taking in his owner’s scent before stealing a swift kiss on Ignis’ cheek as his master began to pet him between the ears. 

“Did I forget to leave that door open?” he asked April, moving to sit upright yet again to prevent the dog from leaping on his stomach as Ignis could sense the temptation in Dragon with his paws on the open space between Ignis’ body and the sofa. 

“I guess so. Dragon is big enough to move most doors open,” April said, wrapping the leash up in her hands to prevent it from dragging on the floor. 

With the space needed for him to get on the sofa, Dragon hefted himself upon the cushions on the free space next to Ignis before stretching out his front legs across his owner’s lap. Ignis continued to gently scratch between his ears to keep the dog settled and relaxed. 

“We didn’t wake you, did we?” April asked with a curious look. 

“I was merely lying down for a nap,” he confessed. “Prompto called me earlier, so I would hardly say I was truly asleep to begin with.” He reached for April’s cheek, turning her towards him to where he could kiss her seeing as she had been out on a small jog for the last hour or so. “How was the walk with Dragon?”

“Went well.” April moved closer, nuzzling up underneath Ignis’ chin as Dragon’s lower jaw rested upon his own front legs sprawled across the tactician. “I got to know our neighbors a bit better and saw some of the shops nearby too. It’ll honestly be nice to not have to bum a ride off of anybody.” She closed her eyes, merely enjoying in the warmth of his embrace. “How are things going with opening your restaurant?” 

“Everything should finally be in place,” he murmured, squeezing her opposite shoulder as his cheek laid to rest on top of her honey blonde hair. “All I need to do now is fine the local contractors to help me get everything put in the building that is finally mine and make sure there are no other snares beyond the electrical and water issues that are finally fixed. You might have to come with me on Monday for just examining the building a bit better as I won’t know what needs most care with my limited view.” 

She nodded, smiling at the thought. “I would be happy to.” 

April still had a small backyard to tend to her own garden and grow the produce she needed to aid in Ignis’ cooking and his own restaurant should he want them. With the time she had lately, she had been spending a few days out of the week to teach children how to swim and about the marine life nearby. It was hard having so many eyes on her at first but noting how intrigued children were and seeing some really eager to learn was always reassuring for her and calmed her nerves quite quickly. 

As dinner went by without a hitch, April couldn’t help but think about how this was indeed the place Ignis lost his vision. Only recently did she uncover that truth when he asked about the state of the goddess’ altar. Having never been blind herself, she could only truly wonder how hard it must be and what dreams must be like as well. Was he forgetting what everything looked like with time…? It was a very upsetting thought considering the state of his friends he could now only hear the voices of. 

Her eyes drifted to the Carbuncle figurine that was there on the nightstand on Ignis’ side of the bed. “How have your dreams been lately?” 

“Mmm?” he hummed curiously, moving his feet out of his slippers. 

April crawled on the bed, wrapping her arms about him from behind where she kissed his cheek time and again. “The dreams you’ve mentioned before—about the gods and the King talking to you? Have you had anymore?” 

“Now and again with Noct but they are truly sporadic in nature,” he confessed, leaning back against her as he took to one of her hands to bring to his lips to kiss April affectionately in return. 

“So do you see him as he was or…does anything seem off?” she continued curiously. “Do you actually… _see_ in your dreams?” 

Ignis was quiet, trying to pick apart her curious words as he felt there was more to them than what she was trying to hide. “In the realm of the gods, it is as vivid as any other place on Eos,” he answered, turning his head in the direction of her question. “I can see as I could when I was a young man.” April seemed to go curiously quiet, making him concerned. “Why do you ask?” 

Again, silence, as she slowly retreated her arms from him. 

“April? Is something wrong?” 

“No, I…” She thinned her lips, running the thought in her head countless times before she deemed it selfish and motioned it away. “Don’t worry about it, Ignis.” 

He moved his hand on top of hers before she could retreat further, squeezing it reassuringly. “You know you are free to tell me anything.” 

“It’s really stupid and a bit selfish,” she confessed, furrowing her brow. “But…I guess I just hate the gods never gave you your sight back after the sacrifice you made for all of Eos and for their plans to save humanity. At times I wonder if you would think of me differently if you actually saw me—the real, physical look of me.” Especially whenever she sat down, April couldn’t help but be a bit self-conscious of the bodyweight she had as she could feel it easily in a more rested position. When she had to wear a bathing suit for lessons, she tried to be as modest in one as possible but still hating the way she looked. Even as the years had gone by and she was getting better, her weight seemed to only get worse in her opinion. 

His misty-blue eyes opened and stared straight ahead. “I can see the real you as you are like this, and I think you’re the most beautiful person I’ve ever _seen_.” He moved his hands forward, touching upon her cheeks to roll his thumbs carefully over her features and remind himself once more of the mental image he had inside of him. “The true reason beauty is so appealing to all is because it is fleeting, but I would rather love the one thing about you that will always make you eternally beautiful—your heart and soul.” 

April attempted to take comfort in that, smiling best she could with a hopeful smile. “Thank you…” she whispered, leaning forward to steal a kiss from him. Like any other, she did want a bit of validation that how she visually appeared was still attractive in some way but the gods seemed to have stripped her of that want years ago when they blinded the man she was with now. “I am sorry for being so selfish. I guess I'm envious the former King kind of gets that honor to see you and vise versa in your dreams.” 

He could hear that upset in her tone, making him wish there was something he could do. “I'm burdened to say that…I do not know the realm of the gods or how to beckon to these dream sequences, and while they are watchful they would have no true reason to grant me my sight back.” 

She smiled a crooked smile, hating to see Ignis so worrisome and upset. “Hey, don’t worry about me, okay?” she insisted with a small laugh. “You mean so much to me and just having you here is enough—that I promise. I am just being a bit whiny for no real reason. I'm sure it’s a PMS thing.” 

When she mentioned it, Ignis was half tempted to bring up the idea of their future again as he knew she had gone on birth control to be mindful of their intimate times together. However, it was something they struggled to agree on in regards to when would be the right time to move forward in their lives seeing as they still had so much going on. However, if it was her menstrual cycle about to come into play, he didn’t want to trigger a further upset. 

“Do you feel all right otherwise?” Ignis asked, scooping her hand into his and bringing it to his lap. “Do you need me to get you some water or medicine?” 

She nuzzled against his shoulder, doing what she could to find comfort where she had before. “I’ll be just fine, hon. Thank you.” 

In the night, April had curled up in Ignis’ arms. She could hardly say they slept every night like this but it seemed to be a trend when one of them needed comfort. Ignis always embraced her after something that upset her or he was being quiet about something that was frustrating him during the day. Just being protected in his embrace was enough to lull her to sleep that night. 

Nightmares were still a horrific occurrence and at times, she was still a bit stressed trying to go to bed thinking they would trigger. However, the ground April found herself sleeping on when she awoke was not that of the cold, cruel ground of the house of her uncle back in Duscae but of a woodland she didn’t recognize. The canopy did its best to blanket her in tranquil darkness though the rays of the sunlight still shone through the gaps of the leaves. Confused as to where her mind could have taken her, she pushed herself upright to get a better look at her surroundings, everything seemingly shaded in a beautiful hue of greens and blues. 

A small familiar chirp called out to her from the nearby dirt pathway she had found herself resting upon and her eyes caught the sight of the small guardian that she had only ever seen once before years ago. When the creature felt it had her attention, the messenger turned and quickly began to pad off down the road ahead. 

“H-Hey, wait!” April begged, getting to her feet in a hurry and trying to follow after it. 

Carbuncle only seemed to gain speed but as April attempted to catch up something glowed out of the corner of her eye, and she quickly stopped to get a better look at it. 

From what she could tell, it looked like a woman in all white. The figure was haloed in such a bright light that it was hard to tell what she looked like exactly beyond the fact she had a staff and wore a beautiful white gown. The way she walked, she might as well had been gliding as her steps appeared weightless and even the trees and bushes about her hardly quaked at her passing. 

Feeling the eyes of April upon her, the figure stopped and the enchanting blue-eyes of the fallen Oracle caught the shocked woman. The specter merely smiled in greeting, gripping her staff and pointing it down the road she was previously headed with Carbuncle leading the way. 

“You…You are…!” But the moment April stepped towards the shrubs nearby, the figure vanished in an instant. She debated on what to do but knowing that messenger was trying to guide her somewhere (as was the fallen Lady Lunafreya), April turned away and headed down the path given to her. 

Ignis’ dreams had become far more pleasant after he had come to accept the fate of himself and his liege. However, when he actually opened his eyes and noticed that the gods had beckoned to him, he couldn’t help but be a bit nervous as to why. “Hello…?” he called, getting to his feet and wondering what they wished to ask of him. 

“Hey,” whispered a quiet, familiar voice nearby. 

Spinning around on his heels, Ignis sighed out his relief in seeing Noctis standing there nearby. “You startled me there for a moment, Noct…!” Ignis gripped his chest where he could feel his heart beating rapidly. 

“Well, do me a favor and don’t die yet,” Noctis teased, arms crossing upon his chest. “The gods have already insisted it’s not your time yet anyways. Besides, I’ve got something I want to show you.” 

“What is it—!” Before Ignis could even get an answer, Noctis had turned away and hurried just ahead down the road before them. “Noct!” He ran after the fallen King, doing everything he could to keep up only to find low hanging branches and vines trying to almost impede his progress while Noctis kept ahead of him, laughing and enjoying in the fun to the point Ignis swore he saw the small boy running through the woods and not the grown man he once was. 

“C’mon, I thought you were faster than that, Speccy!” 

Ignis recognized the voice of Noctis echoing about the forest. It had taken the weight of when he was a child, making Ignis wonder if he was truly encountering his old friend or just having a very vivid dream. 

The light at the end of the trail getting brighter and brighter, Ignis threw back the last of the foliage and fell forward into a field of sylleblossom flowers. “Noct…?” he called, looking about to figure out where Noctis could have gone as it was now an open field in which Ignis stood in. “Noct!” he yelled a bit louder, praying he wasn’t trapped somewhere in the gods’ realm he wasn’t supposed to be. 

“Ignis…!” 

The response back wasn’t what he was expecting. It was feminine, distant in the other direction and as Ignis turned, it was there he noticed the other parts of the woodlands that gave way to April on the other end. 

He didn’t even need to guess that was who it was. The way she walked and her voice beckoning to him was enough to make him realize it was her—but was it truly how she was supposed to be? He knew dreams were a way for the astrals and the dead to talk to the living but could two people who were actually alive encounter one another in their dreams? 

“A-April…!” he called back, hurrying in her direction as he outstretched his hand in hopes to bring her close in fear that something could take her away. 

April as well wasn’t sure if any of this was real but to have a dream that was pleasant would be welcomed and the moment the two touched, she felt her heart race as she thought for sure Ignis was actually there, holding her. 

“It is nice just to have you here,” she confessed, her fingers digging into the fabric of his clothing. “I know you’re asleep right next to me, but I just want this dream to continue till I wake up.” When she pulled just a bit back from his embrace, April caught the sight of his green eyes—they weren’t misty blue and there were no scars upon his face any longer. “I-Ignis…? Your eyes are normal? They’re green…?” Honestly, she had never seen older images of him about the house. With his loss of sight, Ignis never saw the reason to keep many photos about so April had little idea as to what he once appeared with his eyes undamaged. 

“You can see them?” It was then he became curious as he never expected something like this could happen. “But, now I wonder if this is a dream,” Ignis pondered aloud. “Or have the gods somehow summoned us both here…?” 

“Just enjoy the moment,” Noctis’ voice seemed to whisper near Ignis’ ear. “Luna and I have to concentrate to keep this realm open so do whatever you want to do as we won’t be watching, but don’t ruin this. You have a limited time or at least till one of you awakens, so _hurry_.” 

Ignis turned to the voice, seeing no signs of Noctis still but acknowledging he was doing his best to give him the moment April wanted so badly as well as himself. He turned, gazed back down at the woman he loved and smiled as he ran his thumb over her cheeks he had never even known where covered in freckles. It was a detail he didn’t think to add to her. Her figure in view was pear shaped but the sleeveless, pastel blue shirt she had on her from bed earlier (he was to assume) complimented her and Ignis saw no reason for her to be so fearful of her own appearance. His fingers moved through her hair, letting the blonde strands twirl about the digits before falling back just below her shoulders. 

“And as I said before: you are just as beautiful as I imagined you’d be,” he reassured her as he gazed into her blue eyes. Leaning forward, he rested his lips upon her own and drank down the familiar and intoxicating taste of her in a more intimate and passionate manner. 

April fell lovingly into the act, tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as she accepted his kind advance. “If this is a dream,” she murmured when their lips did part from one another for a time, “I do not want to wake up.” 

Ignis tasted of the bitter sorrow of those words. “Afraid that…Noct just warned me that it will indeed end in time. However, what matters in this moment is that I got to witness you as you truly are, and nothing in my heart changes,” Ignis insisted, carefully ridding her of her tears gently. “My love for you only grows.” 

April’s palms found rest lovingly upon Ignis’ cheeks, admiring in the sight of him in return. “And I, you.” 

As she excited the kiss once more, her tongue sweetly stealing a taste from his lower lip in passing, she felt her heart flutter yet again and the close bond that they shared in such a realm sadly became far too intense for her to manage and she woke—bringing it to an end. 

Her eyes flying open, she looked about the darkness of their bedroom. Was it a dream or was it something else? Just as she began to ponder such a thought in silence, Ignis too began to stir right beside her. 

“April?” 

“Yes?” She turned, looking over her shoulder at him. 

“Did you just wake from a dream…?” Ignis was hesitant in asking as he didn’t want to say anything that might be weird or upsetting. 

“Yes, and did you…?” April pried. “You know, a dream where we saw one another in an open field of sylleblossom flowers?” 

A nasally laugh escaped Ignis’ nostrils. “I did, so I guess it was Noct and Lady Lunafreya bringing us together somehow.” 

“And it’s just over? Like that?” April sat upright to face Ignis a bit better still noting in the dim lighting of the moon that his eyes were still very much damaged. Even now the gods would not change that. 

“Noct did warn me that the moment one of us woke up, it would end, not mentioning their limited ability to summon us there. He and Lady Lunafreya were trying to keep that pocket realm open for us to meet, but it sounded like it was draining on their energies, so I dare not ask for such an experience again so soon.” He smiled in the dim lighting of the room, touching his fingers upon her face when he was able to find her. “What matters to me is that I got to see you even it for a brief moment.” 

April knew it was a small instant she too could enjoy the energy and thought put behind it. With Ignis still lying on his side, she escorted him further onto his back with her chest touching his in time. “It was a sweet gesture, and while I kind of ruined it, what matters is I get to have you here and now…” 

He closed his eyes, letting her lips lead in the sweet and tender dance with his own to excite his heart into an erotic and lustful dance. The tips of his fingers touched her skin so lightly that it almost tickled as he worked on removing the top of her pajama shirt to let her bare breast find the rest they desired upon his own. 

Just the feel of her skin against his made him quiver and breathe in excitement, the very sound making her excited in return. Her palms trailing down his bare chest and to the rim of his pants, April casually maneuvered her hand about the fabric barrier to sweetly caress the length of him. She felt his chest tense from where she was resting and heard his breathing even pause in anticipation. Having to move a bit lower and away from his lips to where she could only spare a kiss to his chest, her grip tightening upon the growing erection to excite it onward. 

Ignis gasped, a heated breath that caused his fingers to curl as he rolled his hips into her grasp to entice her actions onward. “P-Princess, th-that feels wonderful…!” he praised, eyes opening and staring in the darkness but allowing his heightened senses to continue to enjoy in every little touch upon him. 

She moved from the base to the tip and back again, feeling the organ swell to a size she could be satisfied with. As she had finished, Ignis was beginning to remove his pants only to have her assist with the act as she crawled on top of him. April leaned more towards his ear to flick her tongue across the lobe and let the heated moans of her excitement tantalize his very core. 

“Aah…!” he gasped, biting at his lower lip to contain the rapture that surged through him like a raging fire. 

In their intimate moments, April had found his weakness—how just her breathing and nibbling on his earlobe appeared to make him lose all sense of awareness and just fall into the pit of euphoria. He had honestly yet to find hers given the years she had been mistreated and how Ignis was working on repairing that damage done. 

She merely continued, her lips pinching and pulling at the skin of his ear as her moans sent a pleasant vibration through him. “Y-You are going to torture me…!” Ignis teased breathlessly, his hand seeking its own revenge as he rid April of the remainder of her clothing and began to sweetly pet the petals of her entrance. 

April removed her lips from his ear. She cried out in excitement at the tender touch of him, her body in dire need for him to continue. “As you have been known to be to me as well…!” she panted, trying to instinctively push down on his fingers but out of playful spite, Ignis wouldn’t allow it. 

He kissed her cheek, rosed by the embrace of ecstasy. “Let me have my fun too,” he insisted, words imprinting their love against her skin as he continued to lovingly stroke her entrance from the back to the front. Using his thumb, Ignis began to rub it in circles upon her swollen clit to arouse her all the more. 

He could feel it, he could smell it—the lubrication was soon moistening the tips of his fingers just in passing. It was then he took his moment to position her near the head of his erection. To let her have the freedom she needed, he removed his hands from her hips and opened his palms to ask for her own. 

Her grasp slipped through the divide of his and it was there she stationed herself, pressing back and letting the engorged head of his cock part her moist entrance to where it was hardly a struggle to have herself sit soon upon the base of his manhood. 

Her fingers curled, nails pricking on the back of Ignis’ hands as she tried to gain a steady rhythm. “Oh, gods…!” she praised, eyes nearly rolling into the back of her head at the erotic feeling blossoming in her stomach she could never get enough of. 

Every time she moved she felt her skin kiss every bit of his length. At times, she would progress slowly just to sense it all the more, encouraging the loudness and quickness of Ignis’ breathing. He praised her for the goddess she was to him. His own grasp upon hers managed to maneuver away, arms reaching outward to bring her more to his chest and embrace her as he thrust upward into her. Ignis was mindful of his pacing, trying not to harm his loving partner who trusted him but was still a bit hasty all the same, always greedy for their moments as this together. 

His hand cradled the back of her head as he kissed her crown, the lewd sounds of their union merely increasing as he thrust a bit harder and faster until slowly and stopping as he pushed as far into her as he could manage. Ignis gained her attention as his breathing steadied through his nostrils like a wild stallion winded in his moments of freedom. “Are you ready for me…?” he whispered hotly, finding the wet strands of her hair against her face to which he moved away with great care. 

“Yes,” she urged, kissing him rather messily as she just wanted to taste of him. “I want to feel your love again…!” 

He started once more, after a few more heartening thrusts it was there he became more vocal. His moans almost caught in his throat as he paused, the harsh release spilling forth and warming April’s body from the chill in the air that blanketed over her that evening. Ignis could feel some of it spill out from the amount he had released, dribbling back down his length and even staining his inner thighs and the blanket beneath them. 

His body once tense as hers became loose and relaxed, basking in the afterglow of their union. His arms embraced her, wishing to lie there just a moment longer so he could appreciate all that she had healed for him. “You are mine, now and forever…I will love you for as long as you’ll let me…” His words were heavy with a mixture of emotions but only true joy could be mined from any of them. 

“We too will be in the afterlife, because I will love you even long after this life,” April assured him, letting Ignis taste of those words given how close she was to his lips. “Thank you, Ignis…Thank you for everything you’ve done for me…” 

He sighed heavily in content, chest brushing against hers as he did so. “And thank you as well, my dear, for healing me and being enduring always when I struggled in finding acceptance for so long.”


End file.
